Heaven ● The Order Fanfic {𝐻𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝒟𝓊𝓀𝑒}

Chapter 9: 𝒟𝑜 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒲𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒯𝑜 𝒦𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒜 𝒮𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉?

I bought a cactus. It was a cute, round little thing in a polka dotted pot. Why, might you ask, did I find it appropriate to buy a succulent when I had twelve crazy witches after me? The short, not depressing answer, would be because I'd always wanted a cactus and I might as well get one now before it was too late.

Her name is Wilma.

I placed Wilma on my window sill and stared at her for ages. Now, the important question to ask would be whose money did I use to buy her? My phone rang and I answered, a slight smile on my face. "You took my credit card?" Vera's annoyed voice asked.

"If you didn't want me to find it, you shouldn't have left it on your vanity." Vera took a deep breath in and out before speaking again.

"Have the Silent Sisters found you yet?"

"I would be a pile of ash on the floor if they had." I turned Waliam from side to side. "I got a cactus. Her name's Wilma."

"Nora, you're in danger. Just because the Silent Sisters haven't made another appearance since last week, doesn't mean you shouldn't still be in hiding . That means no going out and buying yourself a plant." I flopped down on my bed. 

"Why do you care Vera?" She was quiet on the other side of the phone. "You've never bothered before."

"You were right, you know. Mom and dad are dead." I froze. They had kicked me out. They had torn me down. They hadn't been good parents, yet--yet I still felt something.

"Oh." Was all I could muster.

"You are the only family I have left. If I let these fucking mute bitches kill you, it'll be my fault. I'd--" She didn't need to finish for me to know what she meant. She'd be alone. Truly alone.

"Yeah...okay." I whispered, not knowing what else I could really say. Vera cleared her throat.

"I have to go."

"Vera!" I called into the phone, hoping she hadn't already pulled away. There was a long pause.

"Yes?"

"I-uh-I love you." She was quiet again.

"I--I love you too." We sat on the phone in silence. Both, I think, a little stunned. "I have to go." I nodded, even though she could see.

"Yeah. Of course." The phone call ended. I hated her or I wanted to hate her. Vera was better than me in every way. But--but I think my hatred for her came from my parent's comparing us and their expectations. Really, Vera had always been kind to me. In her own, very Vera way. I did love her. She was my sister. My annoying sister.

The door swinging open pulled me from my thoughts. It was Lilith and she threw a bag at me. I caught it before it could hit me square in the face. "I stole those from my roommate so you don't have to keep wearing Hamish's hand-me-downs." Lilith stood there, arms crossed, like she was waiting for me to open the bag. I did and I found very nice clothes. "She's about your size, so they should fit."

"Thank you Lilith, but I don't th--"

"She won't notice they're gone. And if she does, then she can buy more with her daddy's credit card." Lilith's eyes shifted to the widow. "Did you get a plant?"

------------------------------------------

That night, I sat in the artifact room looking through all the books, spell books, and diaries it held. The sheer amount of killing curses and hexes I found made my stomach turn. Magic itself wasn't what I had a problem with. It was the people wielding it. The Silent Sisters and any idiot who has murdered with magic were a great example.

I found a lot of stuff on the Saint Christopher hides. There was Greybeard, Randall's hide. He was the fearless one. Lilith's hide, Timber, was the loner. I found a journal from a few years ago that had tons of info on Timber.

The journal had belonged to Cassie. She had written, in her last few days, that they had found a group of magic users who would go around raising people from the dead and then using said corpses to kill innocent people. Cassie wrote Hamish, Randall, and herself were planning on attacking them the next night. That was the last entry. I placed the journal back in its respective box.

I found stuff on Tundra, Hamish's hide, next. He was the most cunning of the pack. There are a few journals and diaries from Tundra's former Champions, just talking about their lives as Knights. One Knight, I found, had used magic to bring back one's memories.

Midnight, or Cannon Fodder as Randall put it, was the reckless one but also the noblest. He would often be the one to go into battle first and sacrifice himself for the greater good. Silverback was the most powerful of the group. I couldn't find much else on him. Only vague passengers about how his Champion had been corrupt and needed to be stopped. Along with finding that, I read something about a sixth hide named Alpha, but nothing else.

Of course, I wrote everything I found down in my diary. Maybe what I wrote down would come in handy when I was gone, just like these Champions of old had come in handy. Just as I was in the middle of writing about Timber, the door opened and in walked Hamish. I slammed my diary a bit too hard. "Hey," I said with a smile, watching as Hamish rubbed his sleep-filled eyes. Cute--Stop!

"Are you okay?" He asked, stepping down into the room. I nodded, patting the dust-ridden floor next to me. Hamish sat without a second thought. "What are you doing down here?" I turned so I was facing him.

"Have you gone through all this stuff?"

"No, not really. It's just old spell books and cursed objects." I smiled, grabbing the diary from the 1600s off the ground.

"This is a diary written by a Champion in the 1600s. Her name was Constance and Tundra was her hide." I said, handing him the fragile diary. "She wrote about how she had learned to bring back magically removed memories." Hamish flipped through the pages gingerly. "Her pack at the time used magic to do good."

"Really?" I nodded, flipping to the page she said they used magic. He read it over. "Wow...I--didn't know that."

"She also says Tundra is cunning." Hamish chuckled.

"I don't think it applies to his Champion," I smirked.

"I don't know. You tricked me into thinking we were going on a date." Hamish shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"And I feel extremely guilty about that."

"Sure you do." Hamish scooted closer.

"When I first saw you, Tundra wouldn't shut up. He kept saying stuff like 'Her' and 'You're being a loiter-sack', whatever that means. After a while, I got enough out of him to figure out you might be a wolf or a witch."

"Delta did the same thing!" I said scooting closer, forgetting about my diary. "Does Tundra still talk to you?" He nodded.

"He mostly just says 'one in the same'." We said the last part at the same time. We sat there, shocked. We were close. Really close. I could feel his minty breath on my skin.

"What--what do you think it means?" My voice was barely above a whisper. I couldn't get my eyes off his eyes. Off his lips.

"I have no clue." He took my hands in his. My face heated. "Do--Do you want to know a secret?" I gave a nod. "When I first saw you--" He hesitated, searching my eyes. He seemed to find what he wanted and continued. "When I first saw you, all the pain I had been bottling up for years seemed to vanish. All I could see was you."

The butterflies in my stomach soared. I nodded my head because it just seemed to be the right thing to do. He brushed my hair behind my ear, cupping my face in his hands. Hamish leaned forward, his lips brushing against mine in question. "Are--are you sure?" I breathed, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious. From what I had read in Cassie's journal--

"A hundred percent." I grabbed a fist full of his shirt, holding on for dear life, as I crashed my lips onto his.

Pillow soft. His lips were pillows.