"Yeah. Like, maybe our magic wasn't answered this time."
Crystal frowned and looked at Bess. "Darkness has a way of becoming cloying when confronted."
"Yeah, well, would be nice if things just went smoothly and people like Astra didn't become more powerful. And it would be nice if we had powerful witches on our side instead of someone with her magic bound."
"Bess," Eloise admonished.
"It's alright," Crystal said softly. She understood Bess's frustration, because she spent a decade herself in pain and anger. So she would give this young woman hers. She leaned over and kissed Bess's red cheek before she left to sit with Carol and Kelsea.
Bess bit her lip, regretting her words.
She spoke her mind, and sometimes without finesse. She'd found herself replaying conversations in her room at night sometimes, wondering how she could have been more gentle, how she could have handled them with more grace.
Grace, unfortunately, wasn't something that came easily to her.
"How do you take this," she pointed to herself and then turned her fingers to point at Eloise, "and turn it into your more eloquent brand of honesty?"
Eloise's smile was quick and knowing. "Years of messing up and being an ass and learning that hurting people's feelings in the name of honesty is not a skill. Being honest while being kind is an art. Now come on."
She led the sullen teen to the group where she took a seat next to Carol. Carol smiled at her as she sipped from her flute, the blue liquid a near-perfect match for her blue jumpsuit which showed off the journalist's slender shoulders.
"So, there's a town hall happening in a bit," Kelsea said. She was wearing a light blue romper with scalloped edges and a high neck, but the blanket on her lap and her denim jacket were a testament to the unseasonable cold.
Ursula and Jen both audibly sighed and Eloise smiled wide.
"Shall we?"
All women looked to Jessica. Her powder blue A-line dress was simple and elegant. Her hair was free and flowing, no longer the perfectly coiffed look she'd taken on when married to Rob. That night at The Crescent Inn it was the first gathering she'd attended since she found out about her ex-husband coming to claim a place of power in their town and custody of their children.
Crystal had kept an eye on her and the children, reporting back to them with how she was faring. Each day got better. Until she walked onto the sun-bright Crescent property with head high and a readiness in her shoulders that Eloise and Ursula recognized with smiles.
A woman ready to fight.
Oh, what an underestimated creature, the woman who has been dragged to the harsh earth's floor in hopes of keeping her there, only to see her rise with dirt and blood and something in her eyes. Once a woman has been told to sit down, something happens inside of her; a mixture of rage and something far more potent - the simplicity of being unimpressed.
That is where the danger lies in a woman ready to fight.
Tilly felt something crackle inside of her as she looked at their beautiful friend. It was so strong that when Jessica's eyes connected with hers, Tilly's fingertips tingled and heated,causing her to tighten her hand into a fist at the suddenness of it. She slid it into her pocket, unsure of what was happening, but then Jessica spoke into the charged air.
"Let's go," she said as she stood.
Everyone stood from their chairs, a blue wave of strength. Judy and Michelle both stood looking at this formidable group of women they admired.
"Come on, Judy. Michelle," Jen called over her shoulder. "We have a town to freak out with our gorgeous aura."
Judy smiled at Michelle, who laughed and hooked his arm through hers as the women made their way into their town.
Nine women, one man, a wave dressed in different shades of blue, entered the town hall to a hush of voices as everyone stopped to watch.
They brought with them something that couldn't be named, seen or understood by those who would not try.
They took up the back row of the room, standing as one, sitting as one, even as the one lone woman not wearing blue and not fully understanding what they were doing was a beat behind as she sat next to her sister.
Astra, Beatrice and Esther sat watching from behind the podium. Beatrice and Esther looked perturbed but Astra looked pleased with the challenge.
There was a charge in the air that everyone could feel.
Some shifted uncomfortably. Others looked for the source of what they could not name. A few were courageous enough to sneak glances at the line of blue in the back.
