#discoveryofwitches

•October TBR•

Happy October 1st!

Thank you to all of the bookworms that chose this month's TBR.

I truly hope my mood reading does not get in the way of these books. I must read them and get them off of my tbr shelf!

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Which one would you choose to read first??

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#spookishbookishpages #myfictionalmusings #allthebooksoct22 #readingintheweb

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No, no, no this is all wrong.

This didn’t happen until three chapters from now!

Did they even read the book?

I’m so furious I cannot keep watching.

📺📚Time to debrief Episode 3 -📚📺

😁What I loved :

-  Detective Domenico investigating the murders and the thriller atmosphere!

-  Getting to know Diana new life in the XVIth century: head of the house with Françoise and Pierre, dealing with Jack, becoming friends with Mary Sidney, learning weaving with Goodie and the others witches …

-  Meeting so many historical characters! They are all wonderful and well-played! Mary Sidney and her laboratory, John Dee and his library, the scary William Cecil and of course Elizabeth I. The set, the costumes, the cast … we really time walk in this episode!

- Matthew being the caring father with Jack and loving husband with Diana. Such a lovely family

- The weaving scenes are so beautiful: the colors, the threads, the dancing hands … I’m so impressed how they succeeded to adapt this difficult scene from the book!

- My favorite scene is the Rowan tree: it’s so alive and beautiful! The special effects are so precious it looks like a painting 

- Gallowglass arrival: it’s quite different from the book but so faithful to the character’s spirit!

- Phillipe’s growing shadow which is more and more present in this episode. We are so eager to meet him at last !

😐What I would have loved different:

-  The 3 elements witches being so much more than extras. They are all 3 great actresses and they don’t speak at all. It’s such a waste!

- Hilliard miniatures offered to Jack : Such a strange gift to make to a child!  If I totally understand why they did it to explain the murders and the theft, I’m not comfortable with the fact to offer them to Jack. Matthew miniature, with his open shirt is, for the period, a very sexy portrait offered to a lover and to be seen only by her. That’s why I think offering it to Jack is quite strange...

He was tall, handsome and steamy. Salt and pepper hair sat upon his head like a crown of wisdom, and a mark of brilliance. The human man’s eyes were pools of sparkling cobalt. This human was a doctor, which was obvious from the white coat and stethoscope wrapped around his neck. Doctor… Daddy- same thing. 

“Oh, but Derek, we can’t!” Cried a much younger medical resident, similar to the stethoscope- this woman wrapped her arms tightly around the handsome Doctors neck and began to cry loudly. 

Derek leaned away from the brunette, and looked lovingly downwards at her. 

“I’m not going to stop loving you, Meredith. I can live without you, but I don’t want to live without you. And I’m going to do everything in my power to prove it.” 

A loud sob broke through the room, quickly accompanied by hiccuping and cursing. Popcorn suddenly flew out of Breanna’s hands and gently bounced off the large television at contact. 

“Don’t do it, Meredith! Don’t leave him!” Brea cried out in frustration, hot tears puddling over in her eyes. The expensive charcoal polyester couch shook under her as Breanna moved quickly off it, shedding the cashmere blanket that previously covered her naked legs. 

“Ugh!” The witch groaned in frustration as the television quickly switched to commercial. Just as an older man was discussing his lack of erections as of late, Montclair entered the room wearing a bewildered expression. 

“What the devil is going on here? I have a conference call in five minutes-” The Vampire's red hair appeared a dark brown in the evening light as he walked around the living room to examine the witch. Seeing her teary eyes, the Roman immediately startled and became alert.

“Oh, you have no idea! Derek, and Meredith, well they’re soulmates and they don’t even realize it yet- but I do! And she won’t give him a chance because--” Breanna sputtered about pacing, her face becoming flushed as she ranted. 

Realizing that there were no vampires, witches or demons making an attempt on her life Baldwin relaxed. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply in an attempt to calm himself. Deus, this television thing was a mistake. 

Breanna and he had come to an agreement of sorts. She couldn’t leave the property without him, nor make contact with others (this included work emails much to Breanna’s annoyance). In return for this submissive behavior, which was not usual for the witch, Montclair would provide television for entertainment and allow her to contact her Aunt’s and cousins on occasion. Both of them knew this peace treaty of sorts would only last a few days as Breanna was planning on voicing her issues soon. 

However, the vampire had yet to inform her that a) her Aunt Emily had perished and b) that her cousin Diana and his brother, Matthew, had run away to the past in an attempt to escape prosecution. 

To be plainly put, he wasn’t looking forward to the upcoming phone calls. But, deceiving her was necessary for her safety. 

Baldwin dragged a hand down his face and checked the time on his Rolex. 

“Two minutes,” Baldwin reminded Breanna, distracting her momentarily.

In Baldwin’s brief moment of self pondering, Breanna had begun to levitate around the room muttering to herself angrily. At Baldwin’s interruption, however, she fell to the ground and landed gracefully on the tips of her toes. As time passed (today was the eighteenth day that they had been sharing the apartment together) Breanna had become more casual around the vampire. This resulted in her constant humming while cleaning or cooking, as well as her use of her magical powers. Not that Montclair was going to admit it, but this pleased the beast within him. 

Despite her new level of comfort with him, he had yet to reach that level with her. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, just that Baldwin’s guard rarely fell down and when it did- that was something momentous.

“What did you say?” Breanna’s eyes cleared and she flushed with embarrassment as she realized how caught up she had been in Greys Anatomy. She quickly took in the vampires bewildered expression, his iPhone in one hand and his gold Rolex shining upwards at his face. Clearly, he was busy and didn’t have time for this. 

‘Oh fuck meeeee,’ She sang in her head. In an effort to distract herself before she combusted from the mortification of this whole evening, Breanna began picking the popcorn up. 

“I have a conference call in two minutes and it simply cannot happen if you are shouting and running about like a child,” 

Part of her ego wanted to roll her eyes at his comment, while the other part stung to hear him compare her to a child. 

Rude vampire. 

Breanna muttered an apology under her breath and continued to restore the living room to its previous cleanliness. Little did she realize, however, the silk robe she was wearing just so lifted in a way as she bent forward, attracting the vampire’s eyes immediately. 

Just as he would occasionally feel her tingling eyes on him, she felt the icy patches blossom right on her bottom. Breanna whipped up immediately, her hands squeezing the popcorn so hard it began to crumble. 

Neither of them addressed what had just happened, instead, Baldwin returned to his office and Breanna to the couch. But, before either of them had settled down into their separate activities, both served themselves hefty glasses of wine.

It was, after all, the best tonic for a supernatural.

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The next morning Breanna sat perched in front of a vanity in her room. Despite being adjacent to the vampire Montclair, she never saw him enter or leave it, and never heard anything from him. Montclair had given her a large bedroom that was decorated beautifully. It had dark wooden floors that were sparingly covered with a white area rug which contrasted pleasantly with the dark navy walls. Two french doors opened up onto the street below (after her railing adventure Montclair had taken up to put chairs on each balcony in an effort to curb her much more risky method of viewing) and took up most of the right side of the room. On the opposite wall was a fireplace so giant a Volkswagon bug could fit inside,  and surrounding it was a collection of antique-looking chairs. 

In fact, her entire room was kinda ancient. Breanna was an anthropologist and could easily appreciate such aged furniture and creations, but her specialty was not in goods but rather the people that made them. 

Using the mirror in front of her, she eyed her bedroom once again- taking in the extravagant curves, lines, and details in the expensive furniture. 

Definitely French. 

It was early morning in London, around eight o’clock or so. The witch stared blankly at her reflection as she thought of home. Her cat and the Madison Country neighborhood were sleeping as of now, unconscious to the rest of the world. 

Suddenly, a shine of white caught Breanna’s attention. 

“Jesus, is that what I think it is?” She leaned forward and brushed her hair to the side revealing a single white hair. Goddess, the vampire was aging her. Though Breanna had never dyed her hair, being pent up in this apartment for more then two weeks was starting to make her a little stir crazy. She thought of Diana, her cousin, and her beautiful straw colored hair. 

“It’s good to change,” Breanna encouraged herself. 

A simple spell came to mind and soon enough Breanna was chanting. When she opened her eyes to see the results, the witch grinned excitedly. Just as Baldwin was beginning to knock on her door, she threw it open to go see him. Both of them huffed awkwardly as Breanna almost flew into Baldwin. In an effort to keep her grounded (literally) Baldwin grasped her upper arms and forced her feet back to the ground. 

Blond wisps of hair floated around the both of them, crackling quietly as the magic left Breanna’s body. Her hair reminded Baldwin of a wild octopus- its legs waving around erratically. 

“Good morning, Miss. Bishop” Baldwin took a small breath as he examined her new hair and in doing so was assaulted by her scent. Jasmine, bluebells with the undertone of burning electricity. He had never seen a witch uses her power to dye her hair.

“So, what do you think?” She bounced up and down, shaking the vampire’s hands off of her. Breanna’s once amber hair, close to Baldwin’s shade, in fact, was now a honey blonde. Straight as a pin, it finally settled down onto her chest. 

“You look like your cousin,” He commented. 

Both of them noticed it wasn’t a compliment, rather just a statement of facts. Not that he would ever tell her, but Baldwin thought she was beautiful with her original coloring. Of course, now that he thought of it- two red-haired supernaturals moving about London would not be subtle.

Baldwin sighed as he moved passed into the witches’ room, doing his best not to breathe her smell. 

“You’ve met my cousin?” Breanna followed after him until they were both in front of the balcony. 

“Mmhmm.” 

“What kind of answer is that?” She exclaimed.

Baldwin eyed her from the corner of his eyes, realizing his mistake. He noticed the dark patches under her usually bright face, making her pretty face seem sick and sallow. The witch had not been sleeping well lately, and whether she had begun to notice this was unclear. Those who slept often didn’t remember their dreams, but Baldwin had heard her nightmares the night before. 

He shook his head and peered down at the quiet street below them. A gentle rain had started, cooling the air. 

“Baldwin, it is time we discussed this whole situation.” Breanna’s voice was confident and allowed no room for objection. The vampire turned from the balcony, his mouth parted open. Before he could speak, shout or do anything, Breanna held up a single finger. 

“I have stayed in your home. I have listened to you, respected you, and done my best to understand this situation. Something which, might I add, my cousin nor any other witch with some amount of sense would do. I trust you, only because my Aunt does. It has been more than two weeks, Baldwin, I can no longer sit by and wait. The Congregation is after me yes, I understand that. I am not stupid- I am just done with all of this nonsense.” Breanna spoke quickly and her hands fluttered about with each sentence. When she finished, her hands came to rest firmly on her rounded hips.  

Montclair processed everything she said. The witch made logical points, but it did not change the fact that they were in danger. More so, she was. He began walking out of her room and as he reached her door, Baldwin called back to the expecting witch,  “We are calling your Aunt today. I thought it would be good to fill her in on everything- as well as share my findings.”

As the door closed behind him Breanna cursed and sat on one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. This lack of communication on his part was begging to get the best of Breanna’s usually calm and docile soul. Sourcing her anger she shot a stream of fire into the hearth, igniting the logs immediately. 

“Goddess, guide me…” Breanna whispered, her face glowing from the flames. 

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Later in the evening, Breanna and Montclair had settled in his office. The witch had never actually been in his office and was not the least surprised by its size, decor, and oppressive ambiance. Breanna sat comfortably in a Victorian age chair across from Montclair and eyed the surrounding room while he was calling her Aunt. Floor to ceiling bookcases covered three of the four walls and held hundreds if not thousands of ancient books. Breanna’s fingers itched to touch them.  

She snapped out of it when a strong, familiar voice called out. 

“Hello, Baldwin.” 

“Aunt Sarah!” Breanna called out, ecstatic. Her voice was high pitched with excitement and relief. She had attempted to call her aunt the other day but the older witch did not answer. 

“Brea, baby. How are you? Oh, it’s so good to hear your voice. I am so sorry baby, about this and when you get here I’ll tell you everything-” 

Baldwin coughed and interrupted Sarah, caused Breanna’s hazel eyes to flicker up to him in confusion. 

“Sarah, I am sure you want to catch up with your niece but at this moment I have some pressing concerns. As we know the Congregation is looking for Breanna, and though they have yet to trace her here, I imagine they will soon enough. Breanna is under the impression that it would be best to bring her to Sept-Tours, but I am not sure that is the best move. Tell me, is Ysabeau with you?” 

“Yes, she is right here with me.” Breanna paled at the French name, recognizing it from countless warnings and horror stories told to her as a child. It must be taking a tremendous amount of strength from her Aunts to be within the same walls as Ysabeau de Clermont.

Breanna breathed deeply and closed her eyes and felt that if she concentrated enough, just the sound of Sarah’s voice was enough to transport her home. Montclair smelled the change in Breanna and was suddenly aware of her inner sadness, and fear. The young witches breathing slowed, and her hair vibrated gently. 

“As much as I want to bring Breanna home, her safety is my priority. Tell me, what should I do?”

On both sides, there was a pregnant pause. The vampire, Baldwin Montclair, asking for other thoughts? How rare it was of him. 

Breanna was shocked out of her spell by his question and eagerly listened to what her Aunt would say. In the back of her mind, she made a note to question Baldwin later on his witch killing vampire mother Ysabeau. 

“I don’t know, Baldwin. I think bringing her here where we can protect her as a family would be best, would it not Sarah?” Ysabeau’s voice was soft, her French accent was heavy. 

“Perhaps,” Baldwin sighed heavily, “it would be best.”

“I don’t want to bring more trouble, if this is what we will do- perhaps it is best to stay and hide.” Breanna spoke quickly, coming to the realization that the Congregation could follow them and harm not only her family, but Baldwin’s. It was not until hearing the voice of her Aunt that Brea felt this way. 

Baldwin looked sharply at her, disgruntled by what she had said. A flicker of respect burned in his eyes as they looked upon eachother. Despite only knowing Montclair for less than a month, a never meeting his family, Brea did not want to bring trouble to their door. 

“Do not underestimate my family, Bishop.” He scolded her. 

“And do not speak to my niece like that, Montclair.” Sarah was quick to snap, her anger could be felt by both Breanna and Baldwin, despite her being hundreds of miles away. 

Breanna’s heart swelled and her stomach dropped. She looked into Baldwins brown eyes, pleading with him silently. 

“We will be there by next week.” With one click, Baldwin ended the conversation. 

The two of them sat in silence for a moment, deep in their own thoughts. Breanna wrapped her cashmere cardigan tighter around her torso and sighed softly. What had happened to her life? Icy patches bloomed along her face as Montclair examined her expression. He wished to know what she was thinking. Her dark eyebrows were turned down in a frown and her eyes were staring blankly at her jean clad pants. Breanna’s lips opened in thought then closed once again. 

“What is it, witch?” Montclair hid his curiosity beneath the layer of contempt in his voice. 

“The Congregation will know that we will have relocated to Sept Tours, will they not? You are a member of the council, charged with bringing me into questioning. They surely will trace our movement…” Breanna looked deeply into the vampires eyes, and stood bracing her hands on the dark surface of his desk. Her hair begin to rise ever so, its strands vibrating in the air. “Unless we convince them that we have remained in London, they will quickly guess where we have gone.”