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“Rumor has it, the old lady who lived here was a tailor and would make clothing that granted wishes to the local villagers. They called her Arachne, after the famed weaver. One day all the local village girls came to her asking for the same thing. She accepted it all of course. See, the duke was coming to town and he was going to host a ball and whomever managed to gain his attention was to be his wife. So every girl came to her with the same wish: ‘To become the prettiest girl at the ball, gain the attention of the duke’. And so, the old crone went to her shop and began spinning her dresses one by one for every girl who asked.
And on the day of the ball, she disappeared. Her workshop had been completely emptied, covered in dust and spiderwebs as if no one had lived there for ages. Her, along with every girl who requested a dress, had completely vanished. It was as if they never existed.”
"So… what do you think of that?" There was a tense silence as Sebastian pulled his gaze from the map, taking note that his compatriot had become oddly quiet. Or at least, quieter than she normally was with him. He felt his lips tug into a smug grin as he turned to get a better view of her. Tense, a bit unnerved. Chewing at her lip? "What? Don't tell me you're actually scared?" he teased.
Nova blinked slowly, her expression quickly shifting to a glare. "Where did you even hear this story?" she scoffed, rolling her eyes as she trudged past him with a 'hmph'.
He couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched her, knowing that the story had managed to get under her skin. There was a part of him that considered playing it up further just to scare her even more, though he wasn’t quite sure if she would hex him or punch him if he did.
“Why were you so interested in this story anyways? It’s not like you to like some sort of folktale,” she asked, glancing back as they neared the location marked on the map.
“Well the story had something to do with ‘granting wishes’, so I was thinking… if it’s true. Maybe we could find something to help with Anne’s curse. Wishful thinking. But, you know.” He shrugged, “Plus, I get to spend a little more time with you and see you scared.”
Nova stared at him for perhaps a moment too long, as a smirk curled on his lips.
“... What? Finally falling for my good looks?”
“No. I’m imagining you exploding in my mind.”
“So you’re fantasizing about me now, hm?”
She exhaled slowly, shutting her eyes as she muttered something under her breath that sounded vaguely like her counting back from ten. Sebastian couldn’t help but snort at her reaction, taking notice of how her nose wrinkled whenever she was irritated with him and how her cheeks turned a little pink. It was one of his favorite things, much to her dismay. “You know you’re cute when–Ouch.” “Hush, you.”
As the two arrived at the abandoned house, it was just as the story had described: A house with a shop partially attached to it, tucked off in the further end of the town near the woods and long since abandoned. In its current state it was dark, decrepit with varying amounts of overgrown foliage growing over it. A ghost of whatever homey and wonderful looking structure it once was. It was absolutely dreadful looking.
Still, there was something about the building that had a familiar pull to it that Nova couldn’t mistake. The kind that said ancient magic was buried somewhere in the walls of the building and she hated it.
“Home sweet home, right?” Sebastian beamed, throwing an arm over Nova’s shoulder as he tugged her closer. She flashed him a sharp side eye in response, not even bothering to hide her dissatisfaction–whether it was from his flirting earlier or the abandoned house? He wasn’t quite sure. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. I’m just trying to lighten the mood..”
“... It’s not that, Seb. There’s ancient magic here. I can feel it but. Something about this place just feels… off…” she muttered, tugging on the back of his robe. “Just be careful.”
“You could just be honest and say you’re afraid, Nov’. There’s nothing wrong with admitting it,” he teased.
“Nevermind. Be in danger,” she said dryly.
Sebastian barked a laugh at her response. Still there was no real heat to her tone, so he made the gentlemanly decision to lead the way.
He pushed the door open with a slow creak, taking note of Nova’s hand tightening against her wand. There was a thick layer of dust against all the furniture, undisturbed by time itself along with the smell of musk and rotted wood that filled the air. They’d explored many places across the Scottish Highlands before, but something about knowing the history of a place prior was a bit unnerving. “There’s definitely ancient magic here,” Nova muttered, scanning the house carefully. She couldn’t help but notice something peculiar about this home.
It wasn’t uncommon for a home to have paintings or some sort of decor on the wall, rather it was more odd not to have anything there.
There wasn’t a single room that wasn’t covered in dust and cobwebs, an uncomfortable amount of webs for the normal human and yet not a single acromantula or spider in sight. Along with that, there hadn’t been any portraits or paintings of the previous tenants anywhere. Nova made a small comment on it, which Sebastian shrugged off. Though, she had a feeling he was beginning to grow just as wary as she was. Especially as he too began to notice that there was absolutely no decor on the wall, save for in a single room that looked to be the ‘study’.
It was oddly pristine compared to the rest of the home. Spotless, no cobwebs, no dust, just a desk that sat neatly in the middle room and a wall lined with tall bookshelves.Dark green wall paper that had been aged with time and a wall filled with dozens of picture frames lined perfectly behind the desk in gold.
She couldn’t help but feel that tug again once they stepped into the room. There was that familiar humming in her bones whenever she was near an ancient magic hot spot, the tug in her chest like it was close.
Closer–
“Maybe this is where we’ll find those ‘wishes’,” Sebastian grinned, trying once more to lighten the mood from the uncomfortable silence.
“Huh?”
“The wish… you know…from the story? Arachne? Are you okay?” he paused, concerned etched on his face as he pressed his palm gently against her cheek. “... scared–”
“What? No! Just look for your stupid clue or something,” she frowned, swatting his hand away to investigate away from him.
Nova lifted her head, peering up frames taking note of the perfectly taxidermied insects inside. It seemed the previous home owner was a collector of sorts. She studied them as Sebastian scanned the bookshelves and drawers behind her, entranced by the variety of butterflies. They were so beautiful. Though, what struck her as a bit odd was… underneath each butterfly rather than the label of their scientific name, Morpho Aega, Lycaena Tityrus or even Papilio Arcturus as she had been accustomed to seeing for avid collectors there was ‘Lisa Williams’, ‘Andrea Davies’ and ‘Coleen Sims’. Donations perhaps? Or maybe…?
She couldn’t help but remember what Sebastian said from the tale echoing through her mind: Her, along with every girl who requested a dress, had completely vanished.
Was she over-thinking it? Maybe she was scared. She wasn’t going to admit that though, especially not after Sebastian teased her not once but three times over it.
There was a harrowing feeling in her gut twisting and churning the longer she looked at those butterflies, something screaming in her mind that they should not have been there. Where was that workshop that Arachne kept? There hadn’t been any signs of it from what she was able to see. Not to mention, there was that feeling of ancient magic calling to her from below them.
Nova tried shuffling through the drawers in the desks, noting most of them had been locked. She gave a heavy sigh before kneeling down, unlocking one of them with a simple alohamora spell and pulling out a rather weathered sheet of paper with a list of ingredients on one of them. However, the most peculiar thing on this was what seemed to be a small entry on the bottom of the sheet. Unfortunate, as some of the words had been smudged by ink and time.
A letter, perhaps?
‘Ama█ █imo ani█to █ni█gus. I’ve fin█lly do█e it.I’ve m█terd the █ll, tonig█ I w█ ma█ █ll th█e █hes █me tr█e’
“Nov—”
Nova jolted, whipping her head to Sebastian eyes widening like a deer in headlights. She let out a squeal, quickly muffling her voice with her hand as her cheeks flushed, stuffing the letter back into the drawer. “Seb! Don’t sneak up on me like that!” She frowned, brows furrowing at him.
The sound of her squeal and her reddening cheeks made Sebastian grin wider than he knew. There was something about it that he found so cute, he half wanted to scare her a little more. “Oh so you were scared? I was right behind you, though. How did you not notice me?” he chuckled.
“… I wasn’t scared,” she lied.
“Uh-huh.”
“Just help me find that stupid workshop. I know Arachne had one in this house somewhere, the floorboards feel too hollow..”
Sebastian tilted his head, considering for a moment.”Yes but we looked around the house already, there were no signs of stairs anywhere.” He paused, pacing back and forth before tapping his foot against the hardwood. It did sound unnaturally hollow. “We could use descendo,” he suggested.
“Or revelio. There’s likely a secret compartment we’re missing.”
“Revelio?” Sebastian grinned, giving her a knowing look. He recalled how often he heard her down the corridors of Hogwarts casting ‘revelio’ every other moment, as if every corner had a secret to hide. Truthfully, it was quite easy to locate her because of it.
“I know what you’re gonna say. Shut up. It works,” she frowned, shooting him a glare. “Revelio.”
Nova caught the slight glimmer of a latch beneath the desk. She sucked in a breath, mentioning it to Sebastian with a less than enthusiastic look. He gave it a tug as one of the bookshelves shifted, revealing a set of stairs leading to the basement. The ‘workshop’, more than likely.
The two gave each other a skeptical look, knowing whatever answers they were searching for were likely downstairs.
“Maybe there's that book of wishes down there, Nov’.” Sebastian suggested, casting a lumos as he led the way. “If the Arachne story is true, maybe she kept something like that in her workshop. I didn’t see anything like it upstairs anyways.”
“Maybe… but….” she paused. “Who knows. Maybe we’ll find it soon.” She still wasn’t going to admit she was scared, nor that she was starting to suspect that there may have been some truth to the Arachne story. There were just a bit too many things she was piecing that were suspicious, but without proper evidence of what she was assuming it would just be her over thinking it. It was her mind playing tricks on her, wasn’t it?
They reached the bottom, eyeing the lines of mannequins and half finished dresses. Fabrics sprawled about, a sewing machine with a book beside it. And where only Nova could see, the concentration of ancient magic hovering in the center of the room.
Sebastian hummed, motioning towards the book as if he found the jackpot. Nova did the same with the ancient magic, taking in a deep breath as she practically absorbed it into her like it was her birthright.
It was warm, burning into her skin for only a moment before fading away. She had to admit, she did feel more rejuvenated whenever she absorbed more—stronger. That much was certain. However, as hard as they searched for it, it always felt a bit lackluster with how she could just walk up to the cluster and it would simply absorb into her.
Nova glanced back over to Sebastian who seemed all too engrossed in the book beside the sewing machine, approaching him carefully. “Find anything about those wishes?” she hummed, satisfied that she had finished what she had come here to accomplish.
“No… just a book of order. Looks like Arachne had a long list of clients. Here. Take a look.”
She peeked over, that nasty feeling twisting in her gut once more as she read over the names once more. Lisa Williams, a shimmering blue dress. Andrea Davies, a yellow and brown spotted dress. Coleen Sims, a black dress with teal accents. The list went on, names of girls and dresses of varying types. Nova swallowed, furrowing her brow as she couldn’t help but notice something painstakingly familiar about these names.
She’d seen them before.
The names of the girls. The insects. The letter.
Arachne. How did she not notice it sooner?
“…Seb I think I know where those missing girls in the story went..” she muttered, glancing over at him with a horrified look in her eyes.
“Well unlike you Nov’ I’m not afraid to admit I’m terrified right now, buuuut if you kiss me maybe I’ll be a little braver.”
“You know Sebastian, you’re very handsome when you’re quiet.”
“Oh so you do think I'm handsome.”
“Merlin, do you only hear what you want to hear?”
Before they could argue further there was a loud clatter as a mannequin had toppled over, and without Nova even bothering to figure out what it had caused it she’d already grabbed Sebastian’s hand and bolted back up the stairs.
There was something odd. The eerily clean office was now covered in spiderwebs and dust. Save for the frames, still in place but now cracked. The two looked at each other nervously as the sound of something else falling could be heard across the house.
“Seb—”
“I know—”
“No, there’s—!” Nova shrieked, as her grip tightened around his hand. Hundreds of tiny spiders swarmed from underneath them, crawling out of who knows where. She made a strangled noise as her boots stomped against them, kicking back and forth at the arachnids.
“Sebastian!”
“Scared of a few insects now?” he laughed, though there was no denying the shaking in his voice as he pointed his wand to blast at what he could away from the two.
“Spiders aren't insects–”
Sebastian groaned in response, taking initiative as he yanked hand and bolted with her towards the exit. Why did it feel like the corridor was growing further? The spiders were growing larger? The hall was spinning? The clattering behind them was growing closer? Nova’s grip on Sebastian’s hand tightened, her stomach twisting as her breathing grew heavier as they continued to run. She felt she was growing mad from trying to escape from his home.
Maybe the shop was cursed. Maybe there was no ‘cure’ all along.
“Agh! Dammit, we’re getting nowhere!” Sebastian cursed, stopping as he found themselves back in the middle of the hallway in front of the office. Nova stared at him for a moment, furrowing her brows before she reached forward and snatched at a notebook tucked in his robe.
“What in Merlin–? Seb, why did you take her book? This is probably why she won’t let us leave!”
“Oh, so you did believe the story–ouch.”
Nova tossed the book back into the office, giving him a hard glare as she tugged his hand and once more headed towards the exit. This time noticing that there wasn’t any of the difficulties they had. No spinning. No clattering. None of that.
They were allowed to leave, just walk out the door like they weren’t just running from something moments ago. Close the door behind them with a creak, and just as they did there was a lock from inside.
Sebastian gave Nova a look, urging her to continue walking, not looking back until they got a safe distance away from the house. Once the two finally did, his hands found their way to her shoulders, checking her over for any injuries–because Merlin knew she was prone to them– or spiders, or even curses of any sort. “What was that? Did you know that was going to happen? Was that one of your ancient magic things?”
“N-no! Of course not! I had no clue! Why did you take that book!?”
“I– Gonna be honest, I forgot I had it–ouch.”
“Are you stupid!? We almost died!”
“Aww.. you were worried about me…”
“Sebastian!”
“Okay, it was a little stupid. But you have to admit, you were scared. You screamed.I heard you.”
“I.. okay fine. I was scared. Happy?”
“Delighted. Anyways, we got your… ancient… magical whatever and I got to hear you admit you were scared and worried about me… but, what about what you were saying earlier? The girls?”
Nova glanced back at the abandoned shop as it grew further away, her brows knotting as she felt the tightening in her chest once more. “I don’t think the ‘folktale’ was a tale, I think Arachne was an animagi who killed those poor girls… all the names of the clients matched up to bugs that were on display in the office. Plus, the breed of butterflies matched up to the type of dresses that they wanted designed too… maybe she was a witch. Arachne, I mean. I found a letter. It's just… so odd. But it was also hundreds of years ago, so it’s not like we could tell the authorities or–”
Sebastian blinked, tilting his head curiously. “Letter? The sheet of paper you were holding in the office earlier? There was nothing written on it. I was wondering why you were staring at a blank page for so long.”
“... what?”
“Yeah, there was nothing there.”
She stopped in her tracks, her gaze flickering to him as a look of genuine panic flooded through her. “I.. Seb, don’t even joke. Don’t tell me that.”
“Who knows, maybe it was one of those ‘ancient magic’ things only you could see.” he shrugged, offering her a lighthearted smile. He watched as she considered for a moment, swallowing her the suggestion before shaking her head.
“Okay. Fine. Whatever. Sure. That’s it. We’ll say it’s that.”
“You can hold my hand if you’re scared.”
Nova shot him yet another annoyed glare, with him returning it with his signature smug grin. There was a long silence between the two as they made their way back into town, despite that her hand had carefully found its home in his. A fact that Sebastian would definitely gloat over for the next couple days.