Fanon:Pleasantly Bewitched, Chapter 1 - Strange Flowers

The Pleasants and the Aebis have now been teleported into the unknown. What awaits them at their new location?

Part One - What is that Smell?
Thud.

There's groaning. There's moaning. Cursing. Just about everything. I don't know. My head is spinning. I'm dizzy. My eyes are shut, and I can't see. I don't know where I am, where I landed. I don't even know if this is real. It felt so surreal in that vortex. Vivid colours and shades. I must have squinted my eyes shut thanks to the mind-numbing amount of colours there were. And now I can't open them for fear of getting assaulted by another barrage of bright colours.

Just where are we? That's the only question right now. I flex my hand. Movable. I grapple around for my wand, as I must have dropped it in the fall. While my hand snakes around the grass, I note that the grass is far more different than that at Pleasantview. We can't be home now. The grass feels surprisingly springy despite it's rough texture, and very mossy. As well as wet.

Wet! My eyes fly open and I shoot up like a cannon, feeling my back. Yes, it's wet. I look around for my wand. The first thought that comes into my mind is the striking difference in the woodland. Back in Pleasantview, we lived on a sub-tropical climate. Mild winter and hot summers. But here feels chilly. Tall, imposing fir and pine trees rising out of the ground to form a canopy of dark-green leaves and needles. Thorny bushes with very few flowers. This has to be some sort of temperate climate. Definently not home.

What is that smell? My nose catches a faint whiff of something and I gag. The stench smells awfully like a mix of something furry. Furry, and a hint of something repellent. I'm not sure, but whatever is causing that strange scent is making me want to get as far away from it as possible. I look around cautiously. Beneath the eaves of one odd Fir Tree I see a clump of bushes with bright purple flowers. I crawl over and note how the stench becomes stronger. This must be the culprit. If it weren't for the stench I could have easily mistaken them for lavender.

I scramble away from the flowers, disgusted by the smell, and bring the hem of my Eluveitie T-shirt up to my nose to cover it. With my wand still lost, I couldn't do anything but conjure an apple and ride my broomstick. I turn back to the meadow of grass where I landed.

There's Mom and Dad lying face-down in the clump of grass. I let out a slight snicker at the thought of them waking up and finding their faces drenched with dew water. Further ahead is Angela, on her back and groaning, eyes still closed. She looks every bit as drunk as she was at the party. However, I know she must fastly be regaining consciousness, because she just rolls over and vomits into the grass. Propped by a tree is Isabelle, and her mother. They're the only ones besides me who're awake. Isabelle has her head clammed between her knees, with her hands clamped over head ears. Her mother's trying to soothe her with calming words. Isabelle must've been terrified, or scared, or at the least, shocked, at what happened. I feel a pang of jealousy as Mrs. Aebi turns to face her daughter and take her hands in her own to comfort her. Isabelle responds by looking at her with a grim face that's in shock. Despite what you heard from Isabelle about how she absolutely hated her mother, no one could, at that very moment, doubt that their bonds were far too deep to be truly shattered by anger and fighting.

The sound of voices startles us and I dive for my wand, lying by Isabelle's side. We hide behind the tree trunk where Isabelle was propped up. With strained ears I listen. There's three voices. One is unmistakably a man's deep voice. Another is a teenager's voice. Male, probably around 16. The next voice takes me unawares. It's high-pitched and female, but it doesn't sound snooty as much as I imagined high-pitched voices to be. Their exchange flows in hisses, and I can't help but feel rather ensorcelled by their eloquent manner of speaking.

"There are humans in the bushes, children." The man's voice sounds up, amused. I feel adrenaline pumping into my head. I had a wand, I could defend myself. But there's something dangerous about the voice that shakes my resolve. Somehow, it knows what capable powers we have. And it isn't afraid of it, "Even now, I hear their pathetic breathing and the fluttering of their hearts. A tasty feast this could be!"

Uh, oh. That doesn't sound good at all. Apparently she doesn't either, because her high-pitched voice rises in protest, "Father is this necessary? They are only humans, after all."

Then comes the teenaged male voice, "I think we should look and see, father. Maybe they are easy prey."

Prey. Feast. Humans. The words juggle in my mind and I try to comprehend what they're talking about. I could believe that they knew what we were, but food? Confusing, confusing... I don't need to wonder further though, because Isabelle finishes the thought for me.

"Vampires." She says ominously. The moment she says the words I know they could be true, but Vampires? Here? Downtown Pleasantview had a rare one or two Vampires, but then I remember that this isn't Pleasantview. All sorts of things could be lurking here.

They step out of the bushes. The moment the Moonlight falls on them, I know they're not human. They aren't normal. Their skin is pale, and it glowed faintly. Bright eyes. Luminious. I'm captured by their radiance. They all have different eye-colours, but there's no mistake they're from the same family.

The tall man is the first person I register. He's certainly tall, well-built. Dressed as if he came from the 1920s. Smooth, sharp features, with brown hair and glowing golden eyes. He was definently handsome. His voice was so rich, so marvellingly elegant, I could feel it almost pulling me toward him. But I fought the desire to know who this... being, was. I was going to know sooner or later, if he ever talked to us.

The second tallest figure is that of a teenage girl. She has bright, ice-blue coloured eyes and blonde hair. If she was a normal girl, she would definently belong to Adolf Hitler's "Arier" race. But there's something odd about her. She doesn't seem to be as malicious looking as her father. She's dressed in pink and black and looks far more modern. She looks at us with a worried stare, as if fearing for our safety. Her voice is just as compellingly elegant as her father's, but it had no effect on me. I can see Dad faintly stirring as she speaks though.

I don't wait for the third one to speak, because I know that the moment his voice sounded, it would affect me the most. Because I am an idiot teenage girl. His voice ringed louder to me than the other's. He was just as handsome as his father, but he was rather timid. He spoke politely, like a gentleman. I clamped my hand over my ears to shut out the temptations that his voice offered.

I look at Isabelle and her mother. Mrs. Aebi is defiant. She's listening, but the look on her face tells me she's resistant to the effects these beings were casting on us. Bless her. Isabelle, on the other hand, seems completely mesmerized. But that's the odd thing. She doesn't seem to be casting her attention towards the teenage boy, nor the father. No, she was staring at the girl.

"Come now... offer us your plasma. You would be doing us a favour." The tall man's voice booms over my ears, and distracts me from my thinking. It must look pathetic. Isabelle and I were surely seated like puppets against the trees, mesmerized. Unable to move. Mrs. Aebi on the other hand, stood up. I focus on her voice to avoid the murky distractions from the other ones.

"Why us?" She says defiantly. I have to admit, despite her being a pain in the a*s, she was one hell of an assertive woman. The girl's voice speaks up in agreement with Isabelle's mother. I notice Isabelle's stare becoming more and more focused on her as she talks, "Father, they are right, we can find ourselves nourishment elsewhere. It isn't necessary to ask these-" She waves her hand at us. While her voice was worried, the look on her face was indifferent, "-humans for nourishment."

"Silence, Emelie!" The father barked. So that was her name. Emelie. It sounded quite traditional. Emelie casts her eyes down. Their gaze promptly fixes itself on us. The moment her eyes fall on Isabelle though, her mouth gapes open in surprise. Showing two, protuded fangs that stood out among the rows of perfect white teeth.

Yes, they were vampires.

Part Two - Mind Games
Why is she staring at me like that? It's bad enough that we've just encountered Plasmathirsty Vampires, but that mouth of fangs is just way too intimidating. I can't look away though. It's like I'm in some sort of trance, bound by some natural enchantment that leaves me unable to react. I barely register her name, "Emelie". What a nice name for a beautiful girl...

What the Hell?

All at once I'm repelled by the spellbinding power that Vampire girl, Emelie, is casting on me. This is wrong. So, so wrong. I'm tempted to kick myself as another stream of fuzzy thoughts enter my head. I see Mom standing up with her wand raised threateningly at the tall Vampire man, but he doesn't seem intimidated and laughs instead.

"Foolish, foolish woman! You would do better not to trifle with the Van Gould family!" I hear. At once I'm fearful for mother's safety. The threat did sound genuine and if that... thing, lays one finger on her...

I don't question it. I raise my wand, and in an instant, a stream of flame aimed for the Vampire man shoots out, causing his hair to catch fire.

I would have laughed on the spot if it weren't for the fact that we were in mortal danger. The Vampire Man yells in utter panic as his hair begins to singe and burn to a crisp. Oh I'm sorry, have I ruined your perfect hair? I thought seethingly as I watched his kids trying to put out the fire on his head. Time felt slow to me. Watching the man's hair burn to a crisp, everything felt fuzzy and out-of place. Then, he gets splashed face-first by some water, and he's left with nothing but bald patches where his hair was burned through.

I have to admit, it was rather amusing. The tall man I was afraid of seemed to shrink with his burning humiliation. He looks at me with rage before snarling, showing his pointed fangs. I'm not scared though, not this time. Instead I grin back.

My eyes trail back to the girl, Emelie. She's looking at me like I was some sort of insane person. I don't back down from her stare though, and I lock eyes with her, determined to win out in the staring contest.

Then, something strange happens. I'm feeling dizzy. Unfocused. Blurred. I can't tear my gaze off her, just like before. She's doing something, I know it. I can tell by her focused expression. She's muttering something, frowning. I don't know why, but my mind becomes even more muddled and dissarayed as her frown increases.

Then it's over. I'm dazedly shaking my head, wondering at the fiasco that just went on in my mind. I snarl at her, determined to retaliate with a curse that would make her regret what she did.

I can't though. The Male Vampire has just begun taking lethal steps towards us, crouched with his teeth bared. He was aiming to kill. I fling myself protectively over my mother, ready to defend her from this beast. Stupid beast, stupid Vampire! I can feel my rage building as he advances. He isn't going harm her. Not if I can help it.

"What are you doing? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Someone screams behind me, I'm not sure who, "GET OUT OF THERE!"

There's the sound of cool cool winds as the Ice-Blast forms a dome around the Vampire family. There's hoarse shouting as they're encased, but I don't pay attention because someone grabs my hand and begins dragging me through the forest and down a hill-side. I stumble and slip a few times, and I often caught my sleeves or my pants on some branch or bramble, but we run. We run until we're exhausted and can't go on. Eventually, we stumble onto a pavement. Across the road was a tall, 19th Century Victorian home. I take my time to look and check if everyone was all right. The mind-boggling experience with the Vampires was still taking it's toll on my focus.

Angela appears to be half-awake now, being carried by her father, Daniel. Mary-Sue is gripping a huffing Lilith by the arm tightly. I don't know who cast that Ice Blast spell, but I don't want to find out. Those things could chase us, and if my folklore studying was true, they rat us out instantly once the Ice-dome melted.

"Should we go inside?" I ask. With nowhere to go, I don't see any other alternative. The house seems abandoned anyway.

"I don't know, Isabelle, it might be unsafe." Mary-Sue replies. I look around again. It seems this is some sort of neighborhood we had landed in. The atmosphere wasn't one that could be called welcoming. There was a strange air to it, almost unnatural. The houses I could see were quaint and charming, but there was nothing comforting about it, especially when we ourselves didn't know what or where we were.

"Well then, where else do we go?" I ask impatiently. We couldn't just show up at someone's doorstep, "Excuse me, but we've just fallen into a magical portal and we don't know where we ended up, but could we stay at your place while we figure this out?" Yeah, right.

"I don't see any other option either." Comes Daniel's voice. He seems tired from carrying Angela all the way to the street, so I guess it's justified. I'm more concerned over the fact that he'll most likely have caught the scent of Alcohol that Angela's emitting.

"I'm with them on this one, Sue." Comes my mother's voice. I feel a rush of affection and gratefulness for her support as she talks, "There's nowhere to go."

After some murmuring and nodding, we eventually agree that we could stay in this house for a day and then find out where we are when daylight hits. I trudge on the stonepath, through the unkempt front lawn. There's a tattered "For Sale" sign sticking crookedly in the dirt. I drift over to examine the writing:

"For Sale: Victorian Home with 5 Bedrooms and 3 Bathrooms. Contact the Moonlight Falls Real Estate Agency for inquiries. If you are a human Sim, simply dial "111 234 450 943". If you are a Witch"-- hold on. Witch? Is this some sort of joke?

"Guys?" I call out, my mother and the twin's parents come over immediately, "Check this out: 'If you are a Witch or Fairy, channel your magic into the post and wait until you get a response. Werewolves must be in their human form before calling.'"

"That's odd." Daniel says.

"And crazy." Lilith adds. Nonetheless my mother pushes me aside gently, and with a focused gaze, begins to channel her magic into the signpost.

The effect is instantaneous. At once, the Signpost roars to life and begins to reconstruct itself into some peculiar sort of cash-slot machine with a speaker. From the speaker comes a friendly female voice, "Welcome to Moonlight Falls Real-Estate! The purchase of this house costs 160,000 Simoleons. Please transfer the required amount into the cashbox."

Everyone stares at each other dumbfounded. Daniel decides to move on, thinking this to be a silly dream. As he's moving towards the house though, he slams headfirst into an invisible wall and groans as he's thrown off balance, nearly dropping Angela.

"If you wish to enter the house, please enter the required amount of money first." The female voice instructs us.

"Er.... can we pay from our bank accounts?" Mary-Sue asks. I stifle a giggle, but to my great surprise, the female voice begins to register, "Mary-Sue Pleasant, Using SimSaving's Account at GrillCheese Bank. Amount paid: 160,000 Simoleons. Welcome to your new home."

I begin clapping, but then my mother asks, "Sue? Where do you have all that money?"

"My savings account." She says, "I've been saving up since I could walk."

It's all so ridiculous that I laugh.

'''Thank you for reading Chapter 1! Chapter 2 should be online soon!'''