Nanowrimo Bits - 11/5/19 (Patreon)

A snippet from today's Nanowrimo progress - 

“So you see it now?” Fae asked. “The darkness that has been foisted upon you. It’s quite the nasty curse they burdened you with. It’s a good thing Ashe was there. I’m sure Scarlett would have tried her best, but her talents are more in manifestation than purification.” 

Scarlett? Oh. That’s right, Flannery thought. That’s Granny’s name. After the lady in Gone With the Wind. “Granny does magic?”

“Some,” Ashe said, her expression calmer than it had been before. “Not like Aunt Fae, or anything. But she gives us good luck when she can.” 

“I never knew…” Flannery tried to think back to all her time spent with her grandmother. Most of the time was from when she was much younger, so her memories were fuzzy. They always did seem to have good luck anytime she was around. The weather would always be perfect for going to the park, or they’d get the last cinnamon bun at the local bakery, or they’d find a dollar on the street. Little things like that. Individually, they seemed inconsequential, but when she put them all together with this new context…

“Scarlett is a smart woman,” Fae said. “She knew better than to involve you in such things when there was no proof you would ever experience anything more than her magical proclivity for good luck. But now, with this terribly aggressive move from the brothers, I’m afraid there’s no avoiding it.” 

“The magic?” Flannery asked, rubbing at that indent she found in the lapis.

“Well, the magic is part of it,” Ashe muttered.

“Our town is special, Miss Flannery Hood,” Fae said, and Flannery felt like she was being warned. “And I think you are a very important kind of special. But we can talk about that later. For now, let’s get the rest of this curse off you, and then we can implement some protective measures. We can talk about the whole of it once you’ve rested. Alright?”

Flannery simply shrugged. She wasn’t about to throw a fit and demand anything more from these people right now. They were already doing her a favor by…de-cursifying her. Or whatever. Ashe didn’t have to do that. She didn’t have to bring her all the way across town to her godmother. She didn’t have to worry about her at all. Flannery was a stranger. And yet, as she and Fae cleared away this darkness that William had smeared all over her spirit, Ashe felt familiar. Flannery wonder if Ashe felt the same, unfamiliar familiarity as she did. She wondered if that’s why Ashe helped her. Or maybe Ashe was just a kind person, like that Henry dude on the tram, or Elwood from this morning, or Adam from the day before. 

Effingbridge seemed full of kind people. Flannery was thankful for that.