Magical Bonds

@ BearGirl

Esther felt incredibly embarrassed after the waitress left, dreading what Blaise would say. Sure he'd sort of become her friend over the past year, and sure she was pretty sure that she loved him, but he was friends with Marthe, not Esther, even if he still used her original name. The waitress thought the tall blonde she'd been turned into and him were cute together, not the brunette that she was and him. She glanced up and noticed his frown after her reaction and she suddenly felt even worse, worried she'd somehow upset him, although when he laughed it off she forced a small smile, giving a little nod.

"Yeah... Everyone loves Marthe.." she murmured before taking a long sip of water to try to help distract her, not realizing how much bitterness had been in her voice when she'd said it.

@ katahdin

"Well, I like Marthe a lot." Blaise said with a gentle smile on his face. She seemed to be being pretty down on herself, so he was hoping to bring her back up. Though there was a lump in his chest full of worry. Maybe Esther really didn't want to be with him. Maybe she thought the notion was so ridiculous that it caused a reaction like that... It was hard to tell if that was actually the case but still Blaise was concerned about that possibility.

Before Blaise could continue on or think about it much more, the waitress came back and set their plates down in front of them. The man closed his eyes for a moment, taking in the smell before picking up a fork and digging in. It really was delicious. Damn, he loved their food here.

@ BearGirl

Hearing him say that he liked Marthe a lot only confirmed to her that whatever feelings he had for her, whether romantic or platonic, were toward Marthe and not her. "And no one cares for Esther.." she murmured softly as she took a sip of water, forcing a small smile when the waitress brought their food before digging into her meal, hoping she'd feel better once she ate.

What she didn't notice was that her appearance was changing. She was so devestated that he cared for Marthe instead of her that her magic was slowly stripping away the disguise Amanda had given her a year ago. The roots of her hair were slowly turning from the golden blonde back to the dark brown she originally had, as well as growing longer, nearly reaching her shoulders now when it had been chin length when they'd entered the restaurant. Her facial features were even changing back to the ones she originally had, her lips thinning out and her cheekbones lowering. She didn't realize it, but she was slowly destroying Marthe.

@ katahdin

The man focused solely on his food for a couple of minutes. It was easier than dealing with whatever was going on with Esther. It was hard to tell if she was upset, mad or if something else was going through her mind. Whatever it was, Blaise was beginning to think it had little to do with him. Or rather he hoped that it had nothing to do with him.

Though, as he was finishing up about half his meal, Blaise looked up and saw that the person he had been sitting across was not quite the same person he was with now. His eyes widen in surprise and he was quick to grab his napkin and throw it over Esther's face. He then reached over and pressed a hand against it, trying to make sure that Esther would not remove it. Blaise was quick to get up and grab her arm. "We need to leave now." He said with a little growl at the end.

@ BearGirl

Esther cried out in surprise when he threw the napkin over her face, squirming a little in his grasp as she tried to get him to let go of her face. "What's wrong with you?!" She was shocked to hear her voice, not the one she'd been using for the past year, but her own voice, and she knew that something was wrong. She managed to pull the napkin from her face, grabbing at a strand of her hair, watching as the last of the blonde at the ends faded away to brown. She looked up at Blaise in shock, one of her eyes the bright green that she'd been using for a year, while the other was the soft hazel she'd had before.

"What's happening?" She asked worriedly as she stood to leave the restaurant with him, wondering how her disguise that had been fine for over a year was now being stripped away.

@ katahdin

"You should have kept the napkin on." Blaise hissed a bit as he brought her out to the parking lot. He was quick to get her into the back of the car, almost throwing her in there before closing the door. The man jumped into the driver's seat and pulled out of the parking lot like a madman. He needed to get her home immediately. "I don't know what is happening but keep your head down. Do not look at the window." After a moment, Blaise reached behind and picked up a sweatshirt and threw it at her. "Put this on, Hood over your head now."

Blaise was basically speeding down the street, turning like he was being chased. He opened up his phone and made a call to the girl who had hidden her before, telling the woman to come to the apartment immediately before hanging up.

@ BearGirl

"You were suffocating me!" Esther said in her defense as he angrily pulled her out to the parking lot and practically threw her in the car. She rubbed her arm sorely where he'd grabbed her, pretty sure he'd left a bruise, mumbling to herself about him overreacting. It had been a year, and her family had given up the search for her. There was no way anyone would still be looking after a year.

She frowned in irritation when he threw the sweatshirt, starting to pull it on when she heard him call the woman from before, freezing as she stared at his reflection in the rearview mirror. "No. I don't want to be Marthe anymore." She blurted suddenly, panicking a little at the thought. She hated pretending, even if Blaise was only nice and kind and her friend when she was Marthe. She couldn't lie to herself or anyone else anymore.

@ katahdin

"Well that's too bad because you have to be Marthe!" Blaise snapped at her. "If your family finds your, they'll probably try to fucking kill you at this point and if they find out that I helped you, then myself and my family is going to be in deep shit. More than that, we need to find out what is going wrong with the spell. Even if you could be Esther again - which you can't - we need to find out what is going on."

Pulling into the apartment building, Blaise jumped out of the car and was quick to corral Esther upstairs to the room. Once the door was closed behind them, the man let out a small breathe of relief before heading over to the windows. He looked outside, trying to make sure that no one had been following them. "Now we just have to hope that no one saw you."

@ BearGirl

Esther's eyes began to fill with tears as he yelled at her and practically dragged her up to her apartment, staring at him with a deep frown as he wandered around the apartment looking out the windows.

"What's so wrong with Esther?" She asked after a while, wiping at the tears that were leaking down her cheeks. "Tell me, I want to know. I want to know what makes me so repulsive to everyone that they want to change the way I look and the way I act or want to kill me. What's so wrong with me that my family doesn't even love me? That you never paid any attention to me or said anything kind until after I had a different face? You say and act like you're my friend but you're Marthe's friend. But I'm not Marthe. I'm Esther fucking Pruitt and I'm sick and tired of pretending not to be who I am to make everyone else happy!" She shouted angrily, her tears glowing golden with her magic as the last of her feartures changed back.

@ katahdin

Frustration was beginning to build up in Blaise as Esther started to speak. It was clear that she wasn't getting it. That, somehow, she was forgetting why she ever turned into Marthe in the first place. That she was ignoring the danger that she was putting herself, him and his family into.

"The problem with Esther is her psycho family!" Blaise snapped at her. "It's like I am yelling at a brick wall right now. There is nothing wrong with the way Esther is or how she looks or acts. The issue is that she's a Pruitt and the Pruitt family is an enemy of mine. The problem with Esther is that her family is so fucking insane that they started a war with my family a long ass time ago, which created a truce that is now gone, and that they are willing to possible kill their own daughter because they hate Earth Magic so much. That is what is wrong with Esther. It's not her, it's her psycho family!"

"As for why I never paid you much attention before you were Marthe was because of your family. Are you so naive that you didn't see the issue with me being your friend or anything else for that matter when you were a Pruitt. At first you were just some girl that I thought might fight me one day because of who her family was and I was under an obligation to help you learn Earth Magic. I didn't want to at first! Though, after some of the lessons, I saw how smart, talented, kind and amazing that Esther was. So even when I didn't have to anymore, I helped Esther because I liked her enough to put my family and myself in danger for her. I helped you because I liked you. Once you were Marthe, it might that I was actually able to be your friend because you weren't a Pruitt anymore. And your looks might have changed with Marthe but you were still the SAME FUCKING PERSON UNDERNEATH ALL OF IT. I LOVE ESTHER AND I'M FURIOUS THAT I HAVE TO SCREAM THAT AT YOU FOR YOU TO GET IT."

@ BearGirl

Esther frowned as she listened to Blaise yell at her, wiping her tears from her eyes quickly. She felt like she was going to be sick, and she couldn't tell if it was from the magic she was using or if it was from Blaise yelling at her. She gave him a hard look as he told her he loved her, sniffling as she wiped at her eyes before shaking her head.

"Love is unconditional. If you loved me, it wouldn't matter that I'm a Pruitt, and that my family hates me or that my family and yours hate each other. If you cared about Esther you would have been my friend before I was Marthe, before I was tall and blonde and pretty. I didn't care if you were a Reonas when I decided you were my friend, when I fell in love with you. It didn't matter to me who your family was, so it shouldn't matter to you who my family is." She was working herself up into tears again, lip trembling a bit as she spoke at him, her voice filled with bitterness. "You don't love Esther Pruitt. You love Marthe Hornwood, but that's not who I am, and I'm done pretending to be someone I'm not, Blaise. I'm going home to my psycho family, do what you want with the apartment, I don't care. I'm tired of hiding." She spat, grabbing her jacket and heading out the door, slamming it behind her. She hurried through the building, using the back stairwells and back exit to get out onto the street, taking a shaky breath before she started to hurry toward her family's home.

@ katahdin

Blaise let out a growl as he watched Esther run out of the door. He was furious now. It was like she didn't get it. Esther didn't understand that helping her could literally get him and his family killed. She only cared about herself and that was becoming clear to him. Esther didn't care how her choices affected anyone else. He still had his family, he still had his own life to live. He had people that he cared for that he didn't want to get hurt because of some child. It wasn't his fault that her family were a bunch of lunatics.

Picking up his phone, Blaise made a few calls. If this was how Esther wanted to play, then he was done. Within minutes, he had people coming to clean out the apartment and sell it for him. The faster he could get this mess behind him, the better. And, maybe, if her family found out that she was still alive, if he got rid of the evidence, they wouldn't be able to know it was him. Blaise glanced back at the apartment for a moment before heading out. It was time to go home.

@ BearGirl

It wasn't long before someone notified her brother Seth that they'd seen Esther and he came and picked her up to bring her home. Her parents were out of town for the week, and he'd been left at the house alone, so he was more than happy to pick up the baby sister that had nearly killed him a year ago, looking forward to spending some time alone with her.

Not long after Blaise left the apartment he got a call from Esther, although when he answered it was her brother on the other end, his voice dripping with malice as he spoke.

"Blaise Reonas. I should have known it was you hiding her. If you don't want me to get the rest of our families involved over this and start a war, meet me at the Pruitt family home within an hour. Esther has a few things she wants to say to you." He laughed and there was a few moments of silence before Esther cried out on the other end, which caused Seth to laugh even more before hanging up the phone.

@ katahdin

Once the call ended, Blaise pressed his fingers up to his temples and set his phone down. He took a moment to try and push down his anger before driving over to the Pruitt Family house. As he parked, Blaise headed up to the door and knocked before walking inside. Considering the situation they were in, Blaise figured he didn't have to follow normal protocol. It seemed a little silly to wait until the man came and opened the door.

"Seth?" Blaise called out as he walked in. "I am here. Where are you?" He walked further into the house, making sure to keep his eyes open for anything suspicious.

@ BearGirl

Esther was curled up on the floor at the foot of the stairs further in the entryway, her nose bleeding and a number of bruises starting to form on her cheeks, a few burns in the shape of hand prints on her arms. She looked up when she heard him come in, here eyes widening as she shook her head quickly, trying to signal him not to come in. "No, Blaise, don't!"

Her warning came too late though, as Seth appeared behind him, slamming the door before pushing him toward Esther's direction, the man laughing at his how pathetic his sister was. "Shut up, Esther. Hello Blaise. I offered her two alternatives before you arrived, and she wouldn't take the one that would spare her life. Can you believe that? What kind of a crazy person wouldn't save their own skin? Anyway, I told her that if she killed you, I wouldn't tell my parents that she was still alive, and she could go on living her life like she had for the past year. And she refused! What a silly girl." He laughed as he walked over to his sister and gave her a swift kick to the stomach, earning a painful cry from her before turning to Blaise.

"She chose the other option, which I think it just as fun. I won't tell my parents or yours that you've been hiding her for the past year, and no war will start between our families, as long as you kill my little sister." He reached down, grabbing her by the hair and lifting her up so that she was on her knees facing Blaise, her hands moving to try to get him to let go of her as she sobbed weakly. "Should be easy for you, considering how much you hate us Pruitts." Esther looked up at Blaise fearfully, whimpering a little as her brother tugged at her hair to keep her quiet, eyes practically begging him to do what her brother wanted and be quick about it. She was scared of what would happen, but knew that she could do the alternative, and even though she didn't know if Seth would keep his promise not to hurt him after, she knew that Blaise would be able to handle himself if anything happened.

@ katahdin

Blaise's face stayed neutral as Esther was brought down onto her knees before him. He looked the girl over, seeing all of the injuries and marks on her body. It was clear that Seth had his fun with her already. And he could see the desperate look in Esther's eyes. She thought he would do it, thought that he would kill her. There was begging in her, wanting him to do it quickly so that the situation could be over with.

The man let out a sigh before looking up at Seth. "She has been a pain in my ass. Does what she wants, barely listens to me when its outside of magic lessons. I can't even get her to see common sense sometimes. You know, she asks for a lot and doesn't bother to figure out what the consequences of her actions might be. Especially if it doesn't affect her. And, you're right. I do hate Pruitts and that is something that will never change. I think you're all a psychos." As he spoke, his hands were lighting up, allowing Blaise to charge up a powerful spell, one strong enough to be able to kill someone.

In an instant, Blaise was on top of Seth, his hands wrapped around the man's neck. A growl was now on Blaise's face as he slammed his head against the floor again and again. "But I love her. She is so. Many. Amazing. Things. I'm. Not." With his powers, his fingers started to melt through Seth's skin, destroying his throat and veins that run up to his head.

@ BearGirl

Esther closed her eyes slowly as she listened to Blaise speak, tears leaking down her cheeks as she waited for him to do it, to kill her and put an end to all of the problems he was listing while he charged his spell. However, when she heard Blaise move suddenly and she was tugged to the ground she cried out, but her eyes opened when she heard Seth's strangled grunts and groans and as Blaise spoke.

She gasped in surprise when she saw Blaise on top of her brother, who hadn't been expecting Blaise to attack him and therefore hadn't had time to defend himself. Seth didn't last long under Blaise's attack, and was soon lying dead in a pool of blood.

Esther stared at Blaise with eyes wide with shock wide after, mouth slightly open as she tried to wrap her head around what had just happened. He'd said he loved her. He hadn't killed her. He'd killed her brother instead... He said he loved her. She burst into tears, burying her face in her hands as she sobbed weakly, trying to process everything that had just happened, feeling so many conflicting emotions at the moment. "I-I'm sorry... I-I'm sorry.."

@ katahdin

Blaise slowly stood up from the pool of blood. He took a moment to look down at himself, seeing that he was covered in it. That was a lot more gruesome than Blaise had intended but there was no point in worrying about that for now. Looking down at the body, a deep frown came over his lips. He had gotten prepared for this possibility when he got the call, but it didn't change the fact that Blaise did not want to kill the man... It had been necessary for both of them to live though.

Turning to Esther, Blaise gently grabbed her by the upper arm and lead her out of the Pruitt house. They shouldn't stay longer than they had to. Blaise needed to clean up and calm himself down. Esther probably needed the same thing. Though with his head spinning this much, he would need someone else to take care of her for a while. Blaise needed to get his thoughts straight, and talk to his family... Once in the door of his house, he motioned for one of the maid's to come and take Esther. "She is going to get you cleaned up, bring you food and then bring you to bed. I need you to stay here, okay?"

@ BearGirl

Esther allowed him to lift her up and bring her out of her house and bring her to his, managing to get her tears under control by the time they arrived and Blaise passed her off to the maid. She looked up at him worriedly as he said he was leaving her, frowning as she wiped her eyes, smearing a bit of blood from her nose across her cheeks as she did.

"Blaise I'm... I-I'm sorry.. I didn't mean for this to happen, I thought that you'd.. Not that you'd..." She stammered, biting her lip as she looked up at him guiltily. "I-I didn't want you to get in trouble like this." She frowned, letting out a shaky sigh as she tried to calm her nerves.

@ katahdin

"I know you didn't mean for this to happen." Blaise said, trying his best to keep his voice relaxed and calming. Though, the truth was he was panicking a bit as well. He was anxious to leave, get himself taken cared of and then speak to his family. Once all of that was done, Blaise would be able to come back to Esther and, hopefully, get her to calm down a bit. "I promise we will talk about this more but I need to get clean. I need to go talk to my family. And I think we both need some sleep. I will come by in the morning,"

The man reached out to pat Esther on the head but stopped himself as he saw the blood on his hand. A bit of a frown came over his face before he dropped his hand back to his side and, instead, gave her a little nod with his head. "She will take care of you when I am gone. I promise I will come see you soon." With that, Blaise turned and headed further into the house.