#afit

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She'd chosen a spell that could be altered to delay its effects for a predetermined amount of time.

She'd chosen a restaurant with dim lighting and good reviews, the better to lay her trap.

She'd chosen a table with a perfect view of the waiting area, the better to see when her liar of a prince showed up.

(Her grip on her glass grew tight, and small tendrils of ice branched out from within her drink before she recomposed herself. It wouldn't do to spook him before the time was right, after all.)

The door opened, the bell jingled, and her prey walked into her clutches.

Schooling her features, she put on an innocent smile. "Luka."

Her prey grit his teeth. "Vanessa."

"Won't you sit down?" She offered, graciously gesturing to the chair across from hers. "It's been so long since we've been able to talk like this."

Luka walked to the table, but he did so stiffly, refusing to take a seat. "Why did you call me here?"

"Is it a crime to want to check in on my family?" Vanessa pouted.

(She had to hide her smirk when Luka dropped into the offered chair.)

He scowled and pointed an accusing finger at her. "Cut the crap, Vanessa. You and I both know that's not the real reason."

She dropped the pout in favor of frowning distastefully. "Fine." She took a sip of her drink, discreetly watching to see if Luka would do the same.

He took the bottle and an empty wineglass and poured himself a drink.

(She hid her satisfied grin beneath another sip.)

Luka lifted an eyebrow before sampling his own drink. "You haven't tampered with this, have you?"

(Had she been less prepared, this might have unraveled her entire plan.)

She scoffed. "What, you think I'd slip something into your wine? What are we, a one night stand?"

"That's not a concrete answer." Luka noted, swirling the wine in his glass with a wry smirk.

This time, she rolled her eyes. "No, I didn't drug your drink. I know you think I'm many things, but I should hope 'crass' isn't one of them."

Seemingly satisfied by her answer, Luka lifted his glass to his lips and drank.

(Unbeknownst to him, Vanessa hadn't told the entire truth. While she hadn't slipped any mundane substances into the wine, she had cast her spell onto it. She'd had to drink some of it herself to convince Luka to drink, but the end result would be worth subjecting herself to its effects.)

(She could always cast the reversal spell on herself later.)

"So…" She started, leaning in a little. "How is my sweet Hattie?"

"Stop it." Luka ground out, glaring at some point in the distance.

(Reverb. The spell was already at work on him, though he hadn't seemed to notice. She needed to escalate this before he began transforming in earnest, or else she would be the prime suspect. With everyone else in the restaurant acting as witnesses, the case would be open and shut.)

(Plus, she wanted him to feel the effects of her wrath, and the angrier he got, the sooner the spell would take hold.)

"Oh, please." Vanessa snarked. "First you choose her over me, and now I'm not even allowed to ask about her?"

"You lost that right when you treated our little princess like Cinderella!" Luka snapped, gritting his teeth.

(Hm. The spell made his eyes flicker a golden, amber color. Whoever had written the part about "eyes reflecting the person's soul" must have mixed up which color went with a pure heart and which went with corruption. She'd alter it accordingly once she was done here.)

"Our little 'princess?'" Vanessa clenched her fists, accidentally snapping the stem of her glass. "I was your princess! What kind of monster chooses someone else over his beloved?!"

"What kind of-?!" Luka breathed, seemingly stuck on her simple question.

Then his eyes narrowed, and he stood up.

"What kind of monster makes her husband choose between her and their daughter?!" He snarled, glaring down at her for a moment.

"If you're so convinced I'm the monster, why would you come here?" Vanessa retorted, getting to her feet to stay at his eye-level.

"Uh-uhm, excuse me-"

"WHAT?" Vanessa snapped, whirling around to face the idiot who dared to interrupt her-!

The waitress flinched back slightly, but otherwise held her ground. "If the two of you are going to fight, could you please leave the premises? My manager can hear you from the back room."

Before Vanessa could do anything, Luka nodded once, handing the waitress a handful of dollar bills. "I think I'm done here anyway. Keep the change. I'm not hanging around any longer than I have to."

And with that, her prince left, the door slamming shut behind him.

She waited a moment longer before smoothing out her dress. "I believe I'll take my leave as well."

The waitress glanced at the incredibly expensive bottle of wine on the table, then at the shards of glass embedded in Vanessa's palm, but before she could say a word, Vanessa clasped her hands in front of her and strode for the door.

She noticed the way the doors were scratched slightly where one would use their hands to push them open, and she smirked.

She smirked as she stepped into the parking lot and caught sight of Luka's car pulling away.

She smirked as she plucked the glass from her palm, discarding them into the grass.

She smirked as she drove home, shadows creeping up her arms. (Luka's transformation would be much more sudden.)

She smirked as she entered her study, delicately opening her book of spells to the page she'd bookmarked all those years ago.

She smirked as she made the necessary adjustments to the description of the spell's effects.

Only once she heard the sounds of police sirens racing down the street towards Luka's home did she burst into laughter.