"Can't sleep?" Grandma Vai asked Lucille. She shuffled her way out the front door of her two-storey manor and smiled. Lucille smiled but her brows frowned in wonder. Grandma Vai draw a huge breath and spoke, "I knew because of the chamomile tea."

Lucille slid a little to her left to make room on the bench she had been sitting on. Grandma Vai Padureani, the eighty-nine year old matriarch of this Gypsy Tribe, poured herself a cup of tea and sat. It was a little past midnight and only cicadas and the soft rustling of leaves could be heard. "Don't tell me you're having nightmares," she said endearingly.

Lucille chuckled. "No. The Necromancer doesn't scare me anymore." She had been asleep half an hour ago, but it was a shallow slumber. The slightest movement stirred her awake and she had trouble dozing back. She always had issues sleeping in new places.

When Kaven told her he was bringing them back to their tribe, Lucille didn't take it to mean a small town several miles from the nature reserve. It was a community of people descending from different families going back to the Gypsies' dark history. The land had been a thick forest once, until the first settlers, the Padureani Gypsies, direct ancestors of Granda Vai, Kaven and Jili, found sanctuary in it. They were running from exploiters who tried to capture them and enslave them for their passive but effective supernatural abilities. They built their homes and their lives in peace.

Their numbers gradually grew, as the First Gypsies were also saviours of the downtrodden. There were salvaged gypsies from other family lines: the Mirga, Cervenak and Badzo among others. Slaves of every race and culture were also rescued, freed and were given homes within the tribe. And then there were the occasional travellers, who were either lost or endangered, and sought assistance. People who were much alike Lucille and Rebecca.

"You have several questions," Grandma Vai spoke and then took a small sip of her tea. Lucille watched as the steam from the cup swirled and dissipated on the side of the old woman's face. "Choose one. I might be able to answer."

"I'm grateful for letting us stay here," Lucille started, "but aren't you worried we'd just be drawing The Necromancer here and disturb your peace?" This question had been on her mind the moment she and Kaven rushed inside her house looking for her. Without a moment's hesitation, the old woman prepared smelling salts to douse the girls awake. Lucille and Kaven needed not to explain anything to her, she already knew. Gypsy intuition, the witch presumed.

Grandma Vai shook her head and answered, "The oak trees around this town keep us protected. He will not be able to cross over." She took another sip of her tea, "You're safe here, dear." She turned her head and smiled warmly at the younger woman.

Lucille had been living on her own for a long time. Embracing The Craft meant she had secrets to keep and instead of lying about it to all her friends and family, she chose to move away and isolate herself. She could not remember the last time she felt welcomed, she could not remember the last time she trusted anyone else other than herself.

"Next question. I'll give you two more. Three's a fortune, yes?"

Lucille nodded. She didn't know that much about Gypsy magic, but she knew three was indeed a power charged number. Why only three? She wanted to ask, but ultimately decided not to.

She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. A myriad of unanswered questions flogged her mind and she could not decide which two she wanted answered now. She decided on one and before she changed her mind, she asked it. "Is she really my daughter?"

She was referring to the Lilian/Rebecca now sleeping in a cot inside the house. Again, a question that had been bugging her and keeping her from sleeping.

"She is," Grandma Vai nodded. "The girl is Lilian, and the girl is so much more."

"Do you mean because Rebecca's soul is in her body? I know it's not Lilian inside her now, I saw her true form,"

"The girl is so much more." Grandma Vai repeated. She then took another sip. "That's all I can see for now. Last question?"

Lucille didn't understand fully, but a cryptic answer is better than no answer at all. She took it to mean that this girl was really Lilian, and the real Lilian can be saved.

The mother witch stared outside and let her mind go wander in search for her last question. She watched the stars sparkle in the sky. She admired the young waxing moon and its soft but relevant illumination. Then she asked a question whose answer she feared might not be the one she wanted to hear.

"Can I keep her safe this time?"

Grandma Vai turned to her and Lucille held her gaze. The old woman's eyes were a mix of greens and browns. They shone like rare minerals found beneath the earth, but a hundred times more beautiful. No wonder men accused gypsies of mystic hypnotism. Their beauty resonated beyond youth and age.

Without a word, the woman held her tea cup with both hands and laid it on her lap. She bowed to stare into it and appeared to be lost in thought. She blew air from her pursed lips and swirled the contents of the cup three times. Lucille was about to ask her if she was alright when Grandma Vai jerked the cup outwards, spilling the remnants of her tea to the blossoms in her garden and turned the cup to Lucille. She showed her a symbol the tea leaves made sticking on the sides of her cup.

Lucille's eyes flitted between the cup and the old woman. She understood the woman had just performed tasseography, a way of divination using tea leaves, sometimes coffee grounds, but looking at the cup now, she didn't know what to make of it.

Grandma Vai hovered a finger over to a clump of leaves and traced an image that was becoming apparent to Lucille. "A forked line." The older woman said, and Lucille visualized a 'Y' shaped clump in the center of the cup.

The mother witch swallowed the growing lump in her throat. "Is that...a no?"

Sympathetically, the old woman heaved a sigh. "It's neither yes nor no. It means even The Fates do not have your future set in stone."

"So that's unfortunate..." Lucille tried to hide the disappointment in her voice.

Grandma Vai put her teacup down and instead took Lucille's hand. "It's never unfortunate to be outside of The Fates, my dear. Free will protects you. But it means you have to decide the outcome when the moment is right. And the choice is never easy to make."

Without another word, the woman stood up, gave a tender kiss on Lucille's forehead and went back inside.

Lucille looked again at the Grandma Vai's cup and studied the symbol of the forked line. She remembered what she told Rebecca in the forest, that she had accepted Lilian's death and that she would never force Rebecca to be her daughter. But what if her initial theory was correct? What if Rebecca really wasn't dead, but just lying comatose in a bed somewhere at this moment right now? She would find a way to return the girl to her own body, to her very own life. And then she'd have to find a way to bring back the real Lilian. She'd find a way to get her daught-

No.

She stopped herself from thinking like The Necromancer. If Rebecca could indeed return to her own life, Lucille would help her with all her heart. But she would have to bury Lilian again because that's where she belongs. Pulling her out of heaven, out of her eternal rest, was selfish, Lucille was ashamed to admit, and it would do nobody any good to mess with the afterlife.

***

Rebecca woke up to the smell of flowers the next morning. She opened her eyes and saw Jili on her bedside, arranging different blossoms into a vase.

"Oh, sorry. Was I too noisy?" the girl asked.

"Hmm...no," Rebecca rubbed her eyes and pushed herself up against the headboard. "How are you feeling?"

"A little better." Jili replied. "Grandma Vai said I was just exhausted with the exchange of energies. I had a wonderful sleep last night so I'm doing okay now. I'm feeling very well rested. How about you? Any dreams?"

Rebecca shook her head. "I don't dream. At least not since...you know."

When Rebecca gained consciousness yesterday afternoon, The Necromancer was gone and she was with Lucille and a bunch of other people. She was relieved when saw the girl that was with her in the ghouls' vortex was safe. She was too weak to say anything, but she heard Lucille explaining the cliffnotes version of everything to Grandma Vai and the two strangers they rescued. She nodded at some parts, like when Lucille told them about her resurrection, her identity crisis, her visions that led them to the cottage and finally, the part when she tapped into the power of the Grimoire for protection. So that's what happened, she thought, unable to recall what had happened after she begged the book for help. It was hard for her to believe she actually did magic that saved them.

The rest of the evening had been peaceful. Grandma Vai let them stay and offered to help. Both to protect them from The Necromancer, and to find a way to regain Rebecca's memories. All had come to a decision that if The Craft was unable to help her remember, maybe Gypsy Eyes will.

"Okay," Jili said. "Anyway, Lucille is preparing breakfast. It smells so good, I'm telling you! I'll leave you to prepare yourself and then meet you at the table, alright?"

Rebecca nodded and thanked them again for their hospitality.

"You came back for us. You even saved me from that evil man. It's the least we can do." Jili waved and went out of the guest room.

Rebecca took a quick shower and dressed in something Jili laid neatly on her bed. A pang of sadness briefly washed over her. She felt a little pity on herself, having no identity of her own. Not even her own clothes to wear.

But it's the least of my problems now. She told herself.

After brushing her hair neatly into a ponytail, she slowly emerged from the guest room and walked down the hall. The house was an old Victorian but it was apparent that maintenance was of utmost importance to the current inhabitants. The floor was made of hardwood but no squeaks could be heard when stepping on them. It shone against the morning sunlight seeping in through ornately decorated stained glass windows. The interior walls were similarly touched with class and artistry, from the skirting to the cornices. Frames of paintings and pictures that hung on the walls featured generations of The Padureani Gypsies. "It means "forester" in our native language," she recalled Jili explaining to her over dinner last night. "The first settlers of this town were forester gypsies. They were our ancestors."

Rebecca occupied herself with the pictures and noted that they did look similar to Kaven and Jili. Some were plump and had stubby noses; other were tall and lanky; and there were those who looked like poster boys and girls of the 1800's with their top hats and corsets. But there was always the green and brown eyes that evoked peace and serenity. Their hair, light brown and curly, had a life in them that went beyond the unmoving pictures. Rebecca could just imagine them bounce joyfully in the wind. And the smiles on their lips told Rebecca that they lived happy lives here. They found where they truly belonged.

"Hey, Rebecca! Breakfast is ready!" Jili called out from the staircase at the end of the hallway. Rebecca could hear her footsteps as she raced from the landing to the second floor. She saw her as soon as she reached the top. "Oh, you're there already," the girl smiled.

"Yes," Rebecca smiled back. "I was just admiring the your family photos." She gestured to the wall of frames.

"Oh, ours isn't there yet." Jili pointed to a small box of photos on the floor, just beside a china cabinet. "The recent photos with me and Kaven are still here. We sent some for enlargement and framing but we haven't received them yet."

Rebecca walked closer and Jili handed her a family photo from the pile. She recognized Kaven, Jili and Grandma Vai. They were much younger in it, Jili couldn't have been more than seven. There was a man and woman there, too. "Are these your parents?" she asked.

Jili just nodded.

"Where are they?"

"Umm.." Rebecca was too busy looking at the photo to notice that Jili's expression changed. "Well, my father died six years ago."

That's when Rebecca turned to Jili. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know." She draped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment.

"It's okay. It had been a long time." Jili said. "But my mother..."

Rebecca didn't want to upset Jili by making her talk about these things this early in the morning, but the girl didn't stop speaking.

"...she disappeared last year. Right at the spot where we found you." Jili took the photo and ran her fingers on her mother's face. "Kaven had been scrying for her everyday since we last saw her. Grandma Vai tried to see if she was dead, but the mystics told us her soul hadn't passed on to the afterlife.

"We believed she was still alive, just trapped somewhere, and sometimes I could just feel her calling out to me, asking for my help. But we can't find her. We don't know how."

Tears pooled on the girl's eyes so Rebecca pulled her in a hug and apologized for making her remember, for asking her about them.

Jili didn't cry, though. She held back her tears and continued. "Yesterday, Mr Gainsboro broke a window and escaped. Kaven went out to get him back without me. I saw the scrying crystal on the table and tried to scry for my cat. Eventually, I got bored so I scryed for mother. I didn't even have time to second guess myself, the crystal found someone. The crystal pointed to you."

Rebecca didn't know what Jili was talking about, and as if Jili understood her bewilderment, the little girl reached from inside her shirt to reveal that she was wearing a scrying crystal similar to Rebecca's. The one the Titan Goddess gave them when she asked for her memories.

"This crystal led us to you."

"But..." Rebecca also reached out inside her shirt. She took it off and held it beside Jili's crystal. They were the exact replica of one another. "How could this have happened? What does it mean?"

Jili also seemed perplexed to see Rebecca holding a crystal mirroring her mother's.

Thoughtless, Rebecca ran her fingers over the woman in the photo and just like all the other times she had been through this, the clairvoyant vision hit her like a punch in the gut.

"Rebecca!" Jili screamed as the older girl collapsed to the floor. In her hands were the crystals and the family photo. "Grandma Vai! Lucille! Help!"

As quick as Rebecca blacked out, she came to and looked at Jili straight in the eye. "I saw her."

Jili was speechless, she was too stunned to even breathe. But as Rebecca started to shake and cry in terror, she helped the older girl to a sitting position on the floor.

Lucille came running, followed by Kaven behind her. "What is it? What happened?"

Jili still couldn't speak. She kept her eyes on Rebecca even as she clutched tightly on Kaven's arm.

"Talk to me. Rebecca, please..." Lucille held Rebecca in her arms and tried to console her. She rocked her gently and stroked her hair. "Shh, shh... I'm here. You're safe. Calm down," she whispered.

Grandma Vai joined them a little later, when Rebecca was calmer. Only then did Jili found her voice, "She said she saw her. She saw Mother," she told Kaven and then she, too, cried.

"What did you see, Rebecca?" It was Kaven who asked her now.

Holding Kaven's gaze, she finally told them. "I saw your mother on a rock, or a slab of rock...she was tied and she was screaming." She willed all of her strength to continue. "The Necromancer was killing her."

A/N: Yay, an update! IKR! I always promise to update at [said date] but never hold up to the promise. So, I resolve to never tell you when I will update! Yahaha! But no, seriously, I have to stop promising dates because, like I said in last chapter's A/N, everything else in my life is on edge right now. So let me fix that first and then maybe I can update regularly.

Still, I am striving hard to deliver. Especially now that I reached 1k Reads and over 100 votes over the week! Crazy, right!? 

In line with that, I would like to dedicate this chapter to the FWFC_2016 admins and members. I was the featured writer this week and they have dutifully reviewed and critiqued Chapters || one || to || ten || the past seven days. I have skimmed the reviews and critiques, and am yet to respond to them (*hyperventilating*), but I am grateful for their time reading my ongoing work and their words of encouragement. Also, the Votes have enlarged my heart so big I gained and extra pound! LOL! Seriously, though, thank you!

I would also like to dedicate this chapter to my ladies behind the kathbute account! The support is immense and though we are struggling to write our next piece for the Antho 2, we are struggling whilst laughing our asses off in the GC! I draw inspiration from you and I hope I can reciprocate the energy exchange. Chos!

So with that, this cascading A/N has come to an end. I love you all! Mabuhay! World peace!

xoxo

-bentham