Chapter Text
Nancy arrives at the empty parking lot of The Claw, a sight she’s not used to seeing this early in the morning. She usually enters the diner when several costumers are already there, enjoying the town’s signature breakfast: lobsters. Not to say is any different at lunch or dinner. Nancy knows there’s never enough of those. She always finds it surprising how people can’t seem to get bored of it. She sure is of serving it.
Her eyes focus on the clear sky for a moment as she rolls down her car window to let in the light ocean breeze. She closes her eyes for a second, trying to forget all about the book and Temperance. She starts thinking of the ocean, how it’s the most prominent trait in their town and how it has the same color as someone’s eyes. Her mind keeps drifting back to Ace without permission, even though she’s worried about her ancestor and what their connection might mean, her mind still finds the time to think about his eyes, his hair, his rare smile. But especially, it keeps reminding her of the most painful of facts.
That he’s not there.
He’s on a trip.
With Amanda.
Nancy opens her eyes when she feels the tears coming. No, I’m not doing this. I can deal with him being gone. He’s not dead, Nancy. Keep it together. There’re more important things to focus on.
She turns the ignition off and looks at the passenger seat, to make sure the cursed book is still in her bag. It is. She gets out of the car, and as she walks to the entrance, she can’t help but look at the usual parking spot of Florence. She’s only driven it once, but she remembers how cute he was about it.
“Let it be known, I’m only letting you drive Florence because I can’t.” Ace said gesturing to his injured arm. After his car accident, Nancy had been so worried about him, she wanted to help him in any way she could. Maybe it was because she felt guilty or maybe because she realized she liked hanging out with him. Or both. Either way, she was glad to know he was okay.
“Right, don’t worry, I’ll be gentle.” she teased him as she turned on the ignition, “Florence will be fine…” Nancy said, making emphasis on the name because she thought it was dorky how he had a name for his car.
“Well, she seems to like you. You managed to turn her on, on the first try.” Ace smiled at Nancy, knowing how that sounded like.
“First of all, gross.” She looked at him with mild disgust but also showing a hint of a smile, “Second, maybe she needs a checkup.”
“Nope, she’s fine. She just likes you. Consider yourself lucky.” he said looking out the window, trying to hide a very evident smile.
“What an honor!” she rolled her eyes as she glanced at him one last time. She really did like hanging out with him. She wonders why it took her so long to figure it out. But in a way, she’s glad, because they have built something beautiful, and she trusts him so much. Which is why these newfound feelings scare her. She doesn’t want to lose him, and she knows how easy that is. Considering she has lost a lot; it scares her that maybe she’s not done losing people. And with Temperance now in the picture, it makes her worry even more.
She opens the front door, letting the tingling of the bells announce her arrival. She spots George behind the counter right away and braces herself for whatever sarcastic remark she’ll hear from her boss for being early.
“Okay, what new unknown spiritual entity is trying to kill us now?” George says from behind the counter, with her hands on her hips and the usual “I’m tired of this shit” face she always have. Although, if Nancy is honest, she agrees with that face one hundred percent.
“Uhh…. what?” Nancy squints her eyes at her, confused. “You heard me. It’s either that or I’m hallucinating because it cannot be that Nancy Drew is standing in front of me early for her shift. You’re never early.” She states as she takes a towel from the counter and places it on her left shoulder.
Here we go.
Even though she was expecting it, she still rolls her eyes at George. She loves her but she can be annoying sometimes.
“So, either I’m dying sooner than I thought or we are all dying. At this point, neither would surprise me.” she lowers her eyes a bit, defeated. Nancy can’t help but get around the counter and side hug George. She feels terrible for all the things her friends have gone through in such a short time. Especially George, with all the curses, possessions, and Odette; she’s had the worse. Nancy can’t help but feel a bit guilty.
“No one is dying. I’m gonna figure something out to help you with the Odette situation, okay?” she holds George by the shoulders and turns her so she’s facing her. “I’m not gonna let you die. I didn’t last time, remember?” Nancy smiles reassuringly, she cares about George too much to let anything else happen to her. She deserves to be happy, and now with the engagement to Nick, Nancy is working on a solution every day.
“I know, Drew, I know. Thank you” she smiles at Nancy, placing a hand on her left arm for a bit. George doesn’t admit it much, but she likes that they’re close now. She even likes the hugging but all the lobsters in Horseshoe Bay will disappear before she admits that.
Nancy steps back, “Is Bess here yet? When I woke up, she was already gone.” The redhead loves having Bess over, especially now that she has two loving fathers under the same roof. She has déja vu’s all the time, with the constant “How are you?” since the Wraith. She would go to the kitchen and listens to Carson’s “How are you feeling? Need anything?”. She would go to the living room and hear Ryan’s “Are you okay? Anything I can do for you?”. She loves her dad and she’s slowly letting that feeling grow for Ryan, but sometimes she needs space. And that has to do more about certain unrequired feelings than the Wraith. At least that’s something she’s thankful they don’t bother her much about, even though she thinks they have noticed.
Bess has made the whole thing manageable, volunteering to watch slasher movies if she watched the romantic dramas with her. She always liked them but recently stayed clear of them for obvious reasons.
“Oh, come on, Nancy! What’s wrong with Some Kind of Wonderful? It’s a beautiful romantic classic!” Bess had said one time they were alone in the house, since Nancy’s fathers were out doing grocery shopping. Carson thought it would help Ryan know how to do it in the future. And her dad wanted to make sure the Hudson’s former heir used the money wisely and didn’t spend it in three of the “Cinnamon Toast Crunch” cereals because it would be one for each according to him, even though Nancy and Carson knew only he liked that cereal.
Nancy rolled her eyes at Bess, “I didn’t say something was wrong with it, I like the movie, just… not right now” She didn’t want to see anything that reminded her of her best friend, and this movie in particular, would do just that. But if she’s honest with herself, she hasn’t stopped thinking about him since he left. Damn you Ace, and your pretty eyes and caring personality.
“Because it’s about a girl pinning for her best friend who’s dating a girl named Amanda….” Bess began to say with caution and slowly turned to look at Nancy, who was already looking at her with so much disdain. “…or because it’s a romantic cliché?”
Nancy loves Bess, especially how caring she is with her and the whole Crew. Nancy sees her as the mom friend at times, it’s cute and funny. But right now, she could murder her and make sure no one finds her body.
“Because it’s a romantic cliché…” Nancy replied annoyed while looking for another movie to watch, “Let’s watch Prom Night instead, it’s a classic like you wanted…” she said the last part in a mocking tone while looking at Bess.
“Always slashers, fine! But next time, we are watching Some King of Wonderful, and you can’t refuse.” Bess challenged Nancy with her eyes. They did that a lot lately, this little fight. Nancy thinks Bess knows but she’s thankful she hasn’t asked directly. She knows how hard it must be for her, the friend with no filter.
“It’s only fair” Nancy knew Bess secretly liked this type of movies, and Bess knew Nancy sometimes enjoyed watching the romantic classics.
“Earth to Nancy!” George waved her hands in front of Nancy’s face, “Where did you go?”
“Sorry.” Nancy laughed and shook her head, “I was thinking about how Bess is always forcing me to watch romantic movies with her lately.”
“Oh, tell me about it, she’s all about finding romance right now. She’s in the back by the way, figuring out those dating apps.” Both laughed at that.
“Hey, Bess! Trying to find love I heard.” Nancy smiles as she walks into the locker room, she goes to join her in the bench.
Bess runs a hand through her hair, frustrated, “Hey, Nancy. I swear this is harder than it seems. They all look so good but have things like ‘I love the simplicity of seeing the Yangtze river with my date’, I mean…what? Isn’t that in South America?”
Nancy and George share a look and start laughing really hard. “Hey! Stop it!” Bess frowns.
“Number one, Yangtze river is in Asia. Second, remember what I told you Bess, most people tend to pretend because they think that way, they’ll seem important. It’s all a front.” George says, putting a reassuring hand on Bess’s left shoulder.
“She’s right, Bess, don’t believe everything you read in there.” Nancy understood why Bess felt the need to use this apps, mainly because of everything that’s happened with both Lisbeth and Odette. She hasn’t had the best of luck in that department, which once again makes Nancy feel guilty because of the constant supernatural events that she has caused in a way. She knows technically she didn’t start anything in Horseshoe Bay, but she has definitely made it worse, or at least that’s how she sees it. She likes that her friends always reassure her that’s not true, and that, in the end, they will always deal with things together because they are a team.
Nancy smiles at the thought, she feels like returning the favor to Bess. She moves closer and puts her arm around her shoulder, “I know it doesn’t seem like it now, but trust me, you’ll find someone deserving of your wonderful qualities.”
“Yeah, someone just as obsessed with ghosts and shiny things like you are.” George laughs while nudging Bess in the shoulder.
“Ha ha, real funny. But thanks, guys. You’re the best.” Bess takes George’s hand while putting her head in Nancy’s shoulders. They have come a long way, especially George, who hated any type of physical contact by anyone, even Nick. Nancy understands why she was so closed off in the beginning, with the responsibilities of being the only working adult in her family and the “relationship” she had with Ryan. George really didn’t receive that support or love from anyone. Especially herself.
With time, that changed, now she’s with Nick who really loves her and has the support and love from the Crew. Nancy likes that they were all able to move on from their differences and are now sort of a family. She appreciates all of them the same, except for Ace, of course, who she likes a bit, just a bit. Yeah right, keep kidding yourself, Nancy.
Nancy stands up and opens her bag, “So… Bess, maybe I have a date for you.”
“Really?” George and Bess ask at the same time.
“Who is it? Do I know her? How much does she know about me? Oh, God, is it the girl I dropped the sauce on? Oh, no!” Bess covers her face with her hands, embarrassed.
A few days ago, a beautiful, tall, blonde woman with tanned skin walked into The Claw, Bess’s description, looking for directions to the nearest hotel. Obviously, Bess volunteered to help her while also trying to convince her to stay for a while and try their “delicious” food. Nancy remembers looking at George and Nick when she said that, all three looking surprised.
“Guys, make a special effort on this dish, please. This could be my third chance, don’t blow it up for me.” Bess whined in the kitchen while having her hands pressed together, pleading.
“Umm… relax, Romeo. You don’t even know her ‘preference’ and are you implying that my food isn’t regularly special?” George crossed her arms in front of her chest and got closer to Bess.
“Number one, Juliet for me, please.” Bess said with a fake smile as George rolled her eyes. “Number two, I have a sense for these things, okay? She’s gay. And finally, you have to admit sometimes you use a little bit too much salt.” As soon as she said that she ran and hid behind Nick.
“How… dare you?!” George tried to get behind Nick to possibly, kindly, kill Bess. “Sorry, it’s the truth” Bess said in low voice.
“Hey, calm down you two. Think she’s just another customer.” Nancy was trying to mediate the situation, knowing Nick wasn’t about to go against his fiancé. “She is” “She is not” Bess and George spoke at the same time.
“AND…George, just use less salt from now on, okay?” Nancy realized her mistake too late. Now she was wishing she could also hide behind Nick. “Are you… are you agreeing with her?” George started approaching Nancy, in that scary “I will murder you” way.
“See?! Even Nick agrees.” George turned around immediately, looking at her soon to be husband.
“Oh, no, don’t mix me into this. I said nothing.” Nick lifted his hands in defeat while using his body to guard Bess.
When George finally finished cooking, Bess eagerly took the plate from her and went straight to the woman’s table. Obviously, the rest of the Crew were spying her through the kitchen opening, hoping her “wobbly hands”, as Bess called them, didn’t cause an incident. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Just as Bess was approaching the woman, a kid passed running next to her and made her lose her balance, which caused part of the sauce to fall on the woman’s lap. “Oh, god, I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.” Bess repeated as she set the food on the table and took some of the napkins to help the woman clean herself.
“Ugh, she was so close.” Nick said disappointed. “Well, that happens for saying my food is salty.” George said nonchalantly while crossing her arms. Both Nancy and Nick looked at her disapprovingly.
Nancy smiles at the memory, “Relax, it’s not her. Your date is, let’s say, very interesting. It’s… this”
Nancy gets the book out of her bag and slowly hands it to Bess. “Umm, your idea of a date is quite.... boring. Now that I think about it, have you ever even been on a date before?” Both girls look at Nancy expectantly, she can’t help but look back at them with wide eyes.
Now that she thinks about it, she realizes that she has, in fact, never been on a date before. Not a real one anyways since little Tony in pre-school doesn't count. They only got ice cream and they were with their parents the whole time. So, she hasn't. But she won't admit that.
"Of course, I have." she lied, "Besides the point..."
Bess and George share a knowing look, both aware Nancy was lying.
“Can you read it?” Nancy asks Bess, nodding towards the book. Bess opens it slowly and starts inspecting it, “Yeah, I can. Some parts anyway, I don’t know this language, though.”
“Oh, yeah, this is in Italian,” George gestures the top of the page Bess is reading, “… and this is French.”, then the bottom of the page.
“What? Where?” Nancy asks confused.
“Right here, next to the other blank page.” George says sarcastically. Nancy rolls her eyes and laughs.
“The whole book is blank. Are you guys high?” George thinks they are messing with her, and Nancy wishes that was the case.
“Wait, you really can’t see anything? That makes no sense. Can you read it, Nancy?”
“Yeah, my guess is that only the female descendants of the Women in White can read it. That’s why only you and I can.” Nancy was trying to make sense of everything, she’s worried that it won’t be long before Temperance shows up. And that whatever she wants, might be too big of a cost.
“Drew, where did you get the book?” George turns to face Nancy.
“Well, it’s kind of a long story. But in short, I dreamed about my lovely ancestor last night.” Nancy says sarcastically as she sits back down on the bench.
“Wait, what?!” “What?!”
“Yeap. It was really scary and frustrating. In the dream, she was reciting something in Latin with bloody hands while holding that book.” Even remembering the dream, sent shivers down her spine. Nancy is afraid of what Temperance might be capable of, and she has a feeling that she won’t care Nancy is her ‘however many greats’ granddaughter.
“I’m so confused right now.” George starts pacing in the locker room, “First of all, I’m not surprised yet another member of your family is ‘having dinner with the devil while others cry’ evil, no offense.”
“Hey!” Bess scolds George.
“None taken, I agree with you.” Nancy nods. Bess side-hugs Nancy this time, hating how much she has had to deal with in the last few weeks.
“Second of all, how did you know it was Temperance? I thought you said you didn’t know how she looked like.” George stops in front of Nancy, expecting an answer.
“Well, I remember how Bess and… Ace, described her. She looked exactly the same, even the same white dress. But I think I still would have recognized her even if you guys didn’t tell me how she looked like.” Nancy got that sense of familiarity again, like if they had known each other for a while.
“Why do you think that?” Bess asks her.
“She felt familiar, like I had seen her before. I don’t know. This whole thing has me so confused.” Nancy says, resting her head in Bess shoulders. She’s so glad she has people to rely on because she definitely couldn’t have done this past year alone.
Moments like this, make her miss him more. She misses his unrelenting support and his friendly attitude. She knows Ace is the best person she could ever trust her heart to, but things are so complicated now. And with Temperance around the corner, she’s afraid she might not get the chance to know what loving him feels like.
“So, we can assume the book is hers, but how do you have it?” Bess was getting worried because now this was something that could affect her directly. Her also being a descendant of the Women in White might not be such a good thing as she hopped.
“Well, you guys are not gonna believe it but… that book has been in my house since I was around two years old.”
“I could really use a drink right now.” George starts massaging her forehead.
“Apparently, my mom went to buy me a book and the cashier gifted it to her.” Nancy says gesturing the book, “My dad said I touched it and started crying right away.”
“Kid-you knew what was up.” George says proudly.
“Yeah, I guess. He also told me that when he opened it, letters started showing up, moving rapidly and a storm began to form.” Nancy can’t imagine how scared Carson and Kate must have been.
George looks at Nancy completely bewildered, “Maybe two drinks will do.”
Bess moves around in the bench and turns to look at Nancy which makes her lift up her head, “That is so creepy, I’m sure your parents must have been really scared. Even I am right now.”
“Yeah, they were. They tried to get rid of it, but the book kept… coming back to them.” Nancy says the last part slowly, still not being able to believe this was their new normal.
“What do you mean ‘kept coming back to them’?” Bess looks at her curiously.
“They would leave the book in different places, and it would show up again in the house. They even tried destroying it and it also… didn’t work.” Nancy stands up and walks to the other side of the room. Then turns around and starts pointing at them with her finger, with the “I figured it out” look they were all too familiar with.
George looks back at her with the same face, “What if it was a sort of ‘bound spell’?”
“My thought exactly.” Nancy smiles.
“Bound to what?” Bess asks confused.
“To… me.” Nancy’s smile disappears.
“Okay, this has been too much information in like ten minutes.” Bess stands up and walks up to Nancy, “Are you okay?”
“I’m… fine. We need to read that book; I sense Temperance might want it back.”
“I know things have been tough for you lately,” George places a hand on Nancy’s shoulder, “But it’s okay to not be ‘fine’ all the time. Besides, we are here for you.”
“I know. Thanks guys.” They share a not so common, but really welcomed, group hug.
“Okay, enough.” George pulls away as Nancy and Bess laugh.
Nancy’s phone starts ringing in her bag, “You go answer that call while we… well, I read the book.” Bess says, holding the book and dragging George to the kitchen.
Nancy goes to answer it, “Hey, dad. You found the place?”
“Hey, Nancy. So, I was talking to a few of my clients, and one remembered the name of the bookstore. It’s Walden and Davis’s Road. And I know what you’re going to say, and I agree with you. It’s a weird name for a children’s bookstore.”
Nancy laughs at her father, “Is it still open?”
“Yes, it is. But they are not updated so nothing shows up online. You’re going to have to go. I already sent you the address. Do you need me to go with you?” Carson asks worried.
“No, it’s fine. I’ll go check it out. Thanks, dad.”
“Okay, be careful.”
“Yeah, dad. I’ll be careful.” Nancy repeats, smiling at Carson’s protectiveness. “Bye.”
“Wait, I forgot to tell you. After you left this morning, I remembered Kate told me that when she went to return the book, the woman had no idea what she was talking about. She didn't even remember your mother buying anything the day before.”
“That’s… odd.” How come the woman didn’t remember anything? Could it have been Temperance’s doing? Nancy thinks it makes no sense, since her ancestor was supposedly banished back then. But then again, nothing of the current situation makes sense.
“Yeah, it is. Do you think that maybe… she… had anything to do with it?” Nancy hears fear in her father’s voice, and she agrees.
“I honestly wouldn’t be surprised.” Nancy is getting tired of knowing absolutely nothing regarding her ancestor’s possible motives.
“Nancy…”
“Yes, I’ll be careful, dad. Don’t worry too much if it’s even possible for you.” Nancy laughs because she knows her father too well.
“Not possible, but I trust you. I have to go; I have a client. Oh, and Ryan says hi.”
“Okay, dad. I’ll let you know what I find. And say hi to him for me, tell him I’ll call him later.”
“Will do. Bye.”
“Bye.”
Nancy has to admit that she kind of loves having “two dads”, it’s fun. Also annoying, but mainly fun. She misses Kate so much and even though Nancy wondered for so long why her mother wouldn’t visit her, now she’s at peace with it. She feels like Kate is happy, maybe a bit worried, but hopefully more happy. In a way, she misses Lucy too. She didn’t truly know her, but she still feels the connection, and she always will. She even misses Celia, the grandmother she could’ve had if it weren’t for The Road Back.
She has lost so much with only nineteen years old. She hates feeling sorry for herself, but she has to admit, sometimes she can’t help it. Some nights are just too much for her, especially when someone she cares about is having a hard time. So, having her fathers and Bess in those nights, have helped her more than she dares to admit. Even though the person she trusts the most isn’t around, she still feels close to him. She knows that if there ever came a time where she had to choose between keeping him as a friend or risking it all for something more, she would choose the safest path. Because Nancy knows, with the life she has, she can’t risk losing him. She has lost enough already. And that thought gives her the strength to pull through anything that might come.
“Nancy, you have to see this.” Bess pulls Nancy from her thoughts.
“Um… yeah, I’m coming.”
Nancy enters the kitchen and immediately sees the concerned faces of her friends, “What is it?”
“I found a way to know the whereabouts of a Women in White.” Bess says slowly, like she was hiding something.
“But…?” Nancy knows there’s something Bess doesn’t want to tell her.
“Well, it’s just a simple summoning spell.” Bess tries to play it cool.
“Yeah, really simple.” Nancy could hear the sarcasm in George’s voice and notices Bess nudging her with her elbow.
“Okay, what are you not telling me?” Nancy says, growing impatient.
“It needs to be done by five people, all around the same age, who have ever been cursed together, by the same entity.”
Oh. Nancy understands now. They need someone else for the spell. They need him.
“Before you say anything…” George starts saying but is immediately interrupted by Nancy.
“No. We’re not going to call him.” Nancy starts putting her apron around her waist.
“I know you don’t want to bother him on his ‘escapade romantique’ with Amanda but he did tell me to call him if we ever needed him. And we do need him, Nancy.” Bess steps right in front of her, stopping her from leaving the kitchen.
“No, we don’t.” Nancy goes to move past Bess, but George stops her.
“Drew, we need to be one step ahead of Temperance. This is all we have by now and we have to give it a try.” George tries to reason with Nancy, but she knows it won’t work.
“I’ll figure something else out. Don’t call him.” Nancy takes one of the meals that are ready and starts to leave the kitchen but stops halfway.
“My dad gave me the name of the bookstore my mom got the book from. I’ll go during my break and let you know what I find.” And with that, she leaves the kitchen.
She knows her friends are right. But she can’t see him right now. She is not ready. And she honestly doesn’t know if she ever will be.
Nancy served one last customer before going to the locker room to change. She walks quickly past the kitchen, trying to avoid any other comment from her friends. But George is faster.
“Drew, I don’t want to keep bothering you with this…”
“Then don’t.”
George stands near the staircase leading to the freezer, with her arms crossed, “I don’t usually say this but… I’m worried about you. You have gone through so much...”
“I’m fine!” Nancy interrupts her. She hates being like this, especially to George, but she can’t help it. She feels constantly overwhelmed since the Wraith. And it’s worse now because of Temperance. But George doesn’t deserve this, not her.
“I’m sorry, George.” Nancy turns to face her.
“It’s okay. I know a lot has happened since the Wraith and Gil. And… Ace. We don’t have to talk about it, but you can, if you want. I’m here.” George approaches Nancy and places a hand on her shoulder.
“I know. Thank you, George. I know it must be hard for you too, I’m also… here.” Nancy smiles and covers George’s hand with her own.
“Thanks, Drew. Do you want me to go with you?”
“Nah, it’s fine. I’ll tell you what I find.” Nancy smiles at George one last time before leaving The Claw.
Nancy walks through the door of Walden and Davis’s Road, and it seems as if time never entered the place. Everything looks old and smells like it too. All the shelves are filled with dust of who knows how many years. But for some reason, Nancy can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.
“Hello? Is somebody here?” Nancy asks as she starts to walk slowly to the front desk. There’s no one there. “Weird.”
Suddenly she hears a strange noise coming from one of the hallways between the shelves. “Hello? Who’s there?” She starts to move to where she heard the sound. Nothing.
“Hi, sweetie. Can I help you with something?” Nancy turns around immediately, scared. Looking back at her is a brunette woman in a floral dress, and some church shoes. She seems to be around late forties or early fifties. She looks sweet but Nancy feels something is off.
“Hi! You scared me. I thought there was no one here since I called a few times.”
“Oh, sorry about that. I was in the back.” The woman starts walking to the front desk. “So, what can I do for you?” She says that with a wide smile, looking at Nancy.
Nancy turns around to see the hallway again, she notices a wooden door at the end of it, with a ‘Authorized Personnel Only’ sign. She said she was in the back, but I never saw that door open…
“Honey?” The woman calls from the desk.
“Yeah, sorry. I was checking some books.” Nancy tries to keep her voice steady. She turns around once again and walks to the front desk.
“I was actually wondering if you had any records of the books that have ever been here?” Nancy says as she looks around the bookstore.
“Well, since this is a fairly old place, like you have noticed, we don’t actually have any records here, my dear.” The woman smiles at Nancy, again.
Nancy finds strange the woman’s constant use of pet names. “Oh, really?”
“Yeah, most of the books were gifted to us by families of social and political importance. That’s why we don’t keep any records.” The woman’s gaze shifts from Nancy’s eyes to her bag which Nancy notices.
“The books were gifted to you, but you sold them?” Nancy asks as she places a possessive hand on her bag.
“Well, dear, all the profits go to the children, of course.” The woman looks at Nancy again.
“Of course.” Nancy replies sarcastically. “Do you perhaps, remember selling an ancient green book with a silver bull on the cover?”
The woman’s smile disappears from her face and starts looking at Nancy’s bag again. “I’m sorry, honey. I can’t say that I do.” The woman starts moving towards Nancy, leaving the desk. “I’ve been working here for the past twenty years, and I have never seen the book you describe. Sounds interesting though.”
Nancy slowly backs away to the front door, feeling threatened. “That’s okay, I better get going. Thank you anyway.” Nancy turns around and is about to leave when the woman grabs her arm.
“Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do for you… child?” The woman’s hand starts moving towards Nancy’s bag.
“No, I’m fine. Thank you, ma’am.” Nancy leaves the bookstore immediately but not before noticing a computer in the front desk.
Nancy enters The Claw, drenched in cold sweat. She feels as if she has escaped death, but why? Who was that woman? Why was she acting so strange? And why did she seem so interested in my bag?
“Hey, you’re back. How did it go?” Nick asks behind the counter. Nancy was so shocked; she didn’t notice him when she entered.
“Hey, Nick. I’m assuming George put you up to speed.” Nancy goes to one of the tables at the front and takes a seat.
“Yeah, she did. Wow…” Nick joins Nancy at the table.
“Yeap.” Nancy looks away, lost in thought.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen at the bookstore?” Nick leans forward, concerned.
“Not really. But there was something off with the woman there.” Nancy crosses her arms and turns to look outside the window.
“What was off? Did you find something? Did something happen? Who was there?” Bess speaks really fast as she shoves Nick towards the wall so she can sit next to him. Nick just laughs, “Woah, slow down.”
“Hi, Bess.” Nancy smiles.
“Tell me! What did you find?” Bess looks back at her, expectantly.
“Drew, you’re back. So, what did you find out?” George approaches them with her hands on her hips.
“Okay, relax you guys. I couldn’t find out anything because the woman there said that they didn’t keep records of the books they have because they’re gifts from important families.”
“If they’re gifts then why…?” George starts asking but is quickly interrupted by Nancy.
“The profits go to the children or so she said.”
“Did you ask her about the book?” Nick asks.
“I did but she told me that she doesn’t remember ever having that book. But she was weird about it.” Nancy’s mind drifts back to the woman’s strange behavior.
“How come?” Bess inquires.
“Well, she was way too sweet, she smiled a lot, she kept looking at my bag.”
“She was weird because she was… nice?” George throws Nancy a confused look.
“She was too nice. As if she was…”
“Pretending?” Nick finishes.
“Exactly.” Nancy nods at him. “Also, when I mentioned the book to her, she stopped smiling and starting walking towards me. It was kind of scary, so I left.”
“Creepy.” Bess looks at George.
“But I did notice she had a computer in the front desk, like the ones that are in the library. Which is strange since Carson told me they weren’t updated.” Nancy starts thinking of a possible reason.
“Maybe the woman didn’t know how to do it.” Bess says casually.
“Or maybe she didn’t want to do it.” George and Nancy share a look.
“I think we might need Ace to hack that computer.” Nick looks at them.
“Yeah, I agree. Nancy…?” Bess silently begs her.
Nancy has been trying very hard to keep her thoughts away from him, from wondering how he is or what he’s doing. Simply because he’s not here, not with her. And that bothers her. She hates that it annoys her. This is her friend, her best friend. And her heart chose the worst possible time to start feeling things for him. But at same time, she thinks it makes perfect sense. Like it was a natural development. Ace is the only person who doesn’t pry or forces her to talk about things she’s not ready to talk about. He knows when to give her space and when to lend his shoulder. She loves that about him. Wait, love? No, no, no. I just have mild feelings. That’s it. Nothing more.
“We don’t need him. He’s done a lot for us, let him have his vacation. I’ll just go back there when they’re closed.” Nancy stands up and starts walking towards the locker room.
“Nancy…” Bess says again, walking behind her.
“No, Bess.” Nancy turns around to face her. “Don’t call him.” She then looks at George’s annoyed face and Nick’s confused one. “I’m serious, guys.” With that, she disappeared into the kitchen.
“Am I missing something? Did they have a fight?” Nick asks George.
George looks at Nick, letting out an exhausted sigh. She then walks away to greet a couple who just entered The Claw.
“Okay, I’m done with my shift. I’m going back to the bookstore; they must be closed by now.” Nancy says as she puts her favorite black beanie on her head. “Keep the book close to you, Bess. Don’t let it out of your sight.”
“Yeah, don’t worry.” Bess walks to the door and turns the ‘Open’ sign to ‘Closed’.
“Drew, be careful. Don’t go in if you see any sign of the woman.” George says walking towards Nancy with her arms crossed.
“You need a ride?” Nick asks with his hands on George’s shoulders.
“No, I’m good. I’ll just walk. You guys stay here and watch the book. I have a bad feeling about it.” Nancy opens the front door and leaves.
“When does she not have a bad feeling about something?” George turns to look at Nick.
He and Bess just laugh.
It’s a calm night with a clear sky, which Nancy appreciates because she doesn’t have many of those. Or more specifically, she hasn’t had the time to see them. But tonight, felt different, there was a lot of fog as she approached the bookstore. Once she was in front, she read the sign. “Dreamland Candystore? This makes no sense. The bookstore was right here.”
Nancy is incredibly confused, everything looks exactly as it did before except this time the bookstore was gone, and it was replaced with a candy store. Weird. I could’ve sworn it was here.
She has been living here all her life, it’s impossible for her to be confused by something like this. She knows this town like the back of her hand, it makes no sense for a candy store to be here out of the blue. Maybe I missed it. I’ll trace back my steps.
Nancy walks around for what feels like over an hour. Nothing. This makes no sense. Where the hell is it?
“It must be quite distressing not knowing where you’re going. Being lost aimlessly.”
Nancy stops walking and looks around. “Who’s there?”
“Oh, honey. Shouldn’t you know by now?” the voice asks in a mocking tone.
That voice… could it be? “Temperance.” Nancy feels shivers running down her spine.
“As I live and breathe, thanks for that by the way.” A dark shadow starts to materialize in front of Nancy. It was the silhouette of a woman with short hair and a long dress, holding a bag with her left hand. The shadow kept walking towards Nancy until it was out of the fog completely. It was then that Nancy could finally see how her ancestor really looked like. “Nice to meet you, darling.”
Nancy is surprised that this woman before her looks exactly the same as in her dream. Same hair, same dress, same face. How could she know how she looked like before now? Nancy grew even more confused. “I can’t say the same, sorry.”
“Oh, why not, sweetie? Aren’t you happy of meeting a beautifully young family member?” Temperance gestures her body with her free hand, smiling at Nancy.
“Not really, when said family member created a parasite that almost killed me and tricked me, pretending to be someone else, just to get me to give you, my blood.” Nancy says in a sarcastic manner.
“Always dwelling on the past, get over it! See it as if you were helping your wonderful family.” Temperance laughs loudly after saying that, which causes Nancy to wince. “Now, honey, why don’t you give me back my book and I’ll be on my way.” She smiles at Nancy once again.
“What if I don’t want to give it to you? Why don’t you take it from me?” Nancy knows challenging her is not the best option, but she needs to know more about Temperance, so she’s willing to take the risk.
“Well, I would if I could, sweetie, but you being my descendant, the book chose you as a natural successor.” Temperance explains, as she carefully places her bag on the floor and walks over to Nancy. “Since I was unable to use it myself.” She goes to move a strand of hair from her, a lot of greats, granddaughter’s face but Nancy moves away from her.
“Unfortunately, the only way is if you surrender it to me. Now give me the book, child. I don’t want to fight you.” Temperance says clearly growing impatient.
Sweetie? Honey? Child? Someone else spoke like that. Nancy looks at her with wide eyes, “It was you, wasn’t it? The woman from before, in the bookstore.”
Temperance smiles proudly at Nancy, “You really are quite the detective. Yes, dear. It was me. I needed to see if you indeed had it.”
“If you were pretending to be that woman, did you…? Nancy asks fearing the worst.
“She died a long time ago. I just took advantage of that.” Temperance says nonchalantly.
Nancy sighs, relieved. “Because you want the book and I’m sure you don’t want to do anything good with it.” Nancy crosses her arms.
“Not your concern.” Temperance looks at Nancy, studying her. “But… you know our family, not the best one. Now, you and me, we could make a great team. Get rid of them, create a new empire.” Temperance’s wicked smile makes Nancy feel uneasy.
“I’ve heard that one before. Not interested.” Nancy feels a weird sense of safety, like the fear she previously had is gone. She wonders if this could be another one of Temperance’s tricks. “Were you also the lady who gifted the book to my mom?”
Temperance takes a few steps back, standing next to her bag, “Oh, no honey. You see, I put a bounding spell on the book so it would stay in the Hudson bloodline. After it was taken from me, it wandered around for years trying to find a worthy descendant. Eventually it found Kate Drew since you were already living with her.”
Nancy widens her eyes in realization, “So, I was right. The book was bound to me, that’s why it kept showing up in my house, why they couldn’t get rid of it.”
“Precisely! No one can destroy it, just you and me. But only I know how, that's for you to find out.” Temperance challenges Nancy.
There’s still so many things Nancy can’t make sense of, but there’s one in particular that keeps bothering her. “Why did the book show up now?”
“It felt you were ready.” Temperance starts looking around the street, checking the stores.
“Ready for what?” Nancy asks worried. Her ancestor is clearly some type of witch and that didn’t sit well with her. Could it be that she was one too? No, one problem at the time.
Temperance looks at Nancy with confusion on her face, as if the answer was obvious. “Ready to continue the tradition, of course. You're supposed to be my successor. I would become your mentor, teach you the ropes.”
“But you don't want that.” Nancy smiles at her.
Temperance laughs, “Smart girl.” Nancy grows worried again. What if…
“And before your mind goes there, no, I don't want to kill you. Like I said, we could make a good team. You would be.... a help of sorts.” Temperance replies quickly as if she had read Nancy’s mind.
“I'd be your slave.” Nancy is not surprised that once again, her precious Hudson family wants to use her for something. She should be used to it by now. She’s thankful Ryan isn’t like that, not anymore.
“Call it however you want, sweetie.”
“Like I said, not interested.” Now, Nancy knows what Temperance is after, and she feels sort of relieved that she can’t take the book from her. But she is not about to let her guard down.
Temperance picks up her bag and looks at Nancy one last time, “Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Suddenly, the amount of fog started to increase to the point it clouded Nancy’s vision. All she could hear was a distant laugh that she couldn’t tell where it came from. Once the laugh stopped, Nancy heard a loud clap of thunder next to her, which caused her to close her eyes and cover her ears with her hands. After a while, everything went quiet. She slowly opens her eyes and can’t believe what she’s seeing. The shiny lights and ‘Closed’ sign of The Claw were smiling back at her. What… the hell?
Nancy starts looking around for Temperance, but she sees no sign of her. How did I get here? She walks towards the entrance, places her hand on the handle and stops. Turns to look at the street once more, nothing. She then hears laughing coming from inside and decides to enter. She sees Nick, Bess and George laughing at something when suddenly George notices her.
“Drew, you forgot something?”
Nancy’s so confused, she keeps looking between them and the door. “I…” She feels a slight pain in the back of her neck. “How long… have I… been gone for?” Nancy walks towards one of the tables and takes a sit, looking outside the window.
Bess and George share a confused look as Nick joins Nancy at the table, sitting opposite her. “Nancy, are you okay?”
“How long have I been gone for?” Nancy repeats.
“Nancy, you just left.” Bess replies worried.
“Yeah. It hasn’t even been a minute.” George says crossing her arms.
Nancy starts feeling dizzy. “It was a trick. She played with me.”
Bess sits next to Nancy and holds her hand. “Who?”
Nancy rests her head on Bess’s shoulder, “Temperance.”