to see where it was coming from. From the look on Gram's face, I could tell the
source – a woman standing in front of her – was not a friend.
“Mae, it has been such a long time. What a nice surprise to see you still running your little stand.” The woman scanned her icy eyes around our store.
She wrinkled her nose, clearly unimpressed.
“You know, as well as I do, Blanche, that this isn't a surprise. I'm sure, if you
are here, that you are up to no good,” Gram coldly responded to her. “Why don't you crawl back up the mountain you came from?”
Blanche was tall with short silver hair that was smartly styled, and she wore
dark eye makeup with deep red lipstick. She appeared to be the same age as Gram but looked as if she had never done a day's work in her life. Her black dress was long and tight with a deep slit up the right thigh. On most women her
age, a dress like that would seem ridiculous. However, despite the dress having
obviously been made for a much younger woman, she looked surprisingly
stunning in it.
“I see time has not made you any smarter, Mae. I just came to see the lunar
festivities. I was told one of my new granddaughters would be performing her first Lunar Dance. Since the girls will soon be coming to live with us, I thought
it would be nice for me to show my support,” she said with a smile on her face
that didn't entirely hide the contempt she obviously felt towards us.
“You will have nothing to do with those girls,” Gram spat back at Blanche.
Small flames of fire began to spark from her hands. “I suggest you leave and take your machinations elsewhere.”
Looking at my grandmother with pity in her eyes, Blanche twirled the
diamond ring on her finger and said, “You never seem to learn that you cannot
insult my family and get away with it. What a joy it will be to take away another
of yours.”
Turning on her heels, she called back to us, “Goodbye, girls. I'll see you soon.”
Confused by the conversation, Meg held me tighter. “What was that lady
talking about?”
“Never mind her,” I said as I tried to pull Meg's attention from the retreating
woman. “Just another mountain crazy coming to stir up trouble. Full moons can
do that, remember? Stay here while I get some lipstick from my bag. You need a
little color for the stage.”
Grabbing my bag, I whispered to Gram, “Bring Meg the potion. I'm going to
finish getting her ready. Would it be safe to assume that woman is Cedric Drygen's mother?”
Nodding, Gram sat down on the small stool and sighed. “I'll be over in a minute. I just need to compose myself.”
I kissed Gram on the head before I left her to her thoughts. Stopping, I looked back at her and whispered, “Goddess, please protect my family.”
With the final touches, my little sister looked even more beautiful than usual.
A whistle came from the entryway. “Who is this little angel before me, and
what has she done with Meg? Stand up and give me a twirl,” Cole said.
Twirling around, she beamed at his praise.
“Nice, nice, but something is wrong. I must say that there is one thing
missing.”
The smile on her face quickly turned into a worried frown. Hesitantly, she asked, “What? What’s missing?”
Walking around her, as if scrutinizing her, Cole began, “Well, the outfit is perfect. Yes, very nice. Your hair is lovely – thanks to the fine talents of Gram.
