#gothmanor

Starting my makeover of the Goth Manor...trying to make it look imposing and a bit scary for any future husbands to the Goth heiress... 😂👍

The original house model that I used to renovate is here and it's really well done by a brilliant builder/designer called @plumbtales. Go check out their builds - they are amazing!

Apparently one thing hadn’t changed, Alex could read my mind pretty easily, Emma went back to her wedding planning and Alex looked at me as confused as I felt.

ALEX- “So how has your life been altered my friend?  Was Alexandria really that bad?”

ELIAS- “No, oh no not at all, just having a hard time acclimating back into the real world here, after being there for so long, cut off from everything.”

ALEX- “Well, get used to it friend. We are both going to be old married men by the end of the summer, you talk about our lives being altered!  Have you seen Laurel yet?  Did she not know you were coming home early?”

ELIAS- “No, she didn’t know, I didn’t have time to tell her.  She is next on my list, as soon as I see your grandfather, there are some things I need to discuss with him.”

ALEX- “Grandfather is going to have to wait, Eli, as your fiance is in the other room, and I am sure, Emma has already told her that you are here….”

Just as he said that, Laurel comes into the foyer and grabs me, holding me in an embrace.

LAUREL- “Elias James Boedell!! I can not believe you didn’t tell me that you were coming home early!!”

ELIAS- “Sorry, I wanted to surprise you.”

LAUREL- “Well you most certainly have done that!!  And what is up with your hair, please tell me that it is going to go back to your normal color before the wedding.”

ELIAS- “Wedding?! Oh yes...I suspect that my hair should be back to normal by then, I hope anyway.”

LAUREL- “I have missed you so much!  Now that you are back, we can get the final touches on everything. Planning a wedding all alone has not been easy, not that I am blaming you, I knew getting into this that the coven and the realm would take precedent on some things in our lives.  I just didn’t realize it would cause such a disruption in our wedding plans!”

ELIAS- “I am sorry, Laurel, I didn’t mean for it to be like this.  (I meant that in more ways than one!)

LAUREL- “I know sweetheart. So, your father has everything set for your mother’s surprise 60th birthday party.  And I heard that Dante moved back this week, so he and Tiffany will be here for that, and for the wedding!!”

ELIAS- “Tiffany?”

LAUREL- “Your sister-in-law?  Dante’s wife…the former dancer/call girl?  You do recall her, right?  Wow, you really are disoriented.”

ELIAS- “Yeah, I am, sorry.  I should get with Philip, I am sure he can clear all this disorientation up…..

LAUREL- “Well, he is downstairs, go on down, I am sure he knows you are here already, but when you get back in your right head, we have a lot to discuss!”

ELIAS- “Yes, I am sure we do!”

EMMA- “I know! Just putting all the finishing touches to the wedding and reception. It seems like I have been planning a wedding for years!”

ALEX- “You have been, Emma,  I mean you have been planning this day since you were ten years old!”

PHILIP- “Maggie Jones and your father married their first year of college. She became pregnant with your brother within the first few months of marriage.  After he was born she moved here to Willow Creek to be with your father, and her son, Dante.  However, her Aunt was an evil witch and hated the fact that Maggie married the future Coven Master, and a Boedell.  Anyway, to make a long story short, Aurora Jones, her aunt tried to steal the Book of Shadows and kill Maggie as well as Dante.  But Maggie died in a counter spell. She died protecting her son, and your father’s legacy.  Of course Aurora also died and that was the end of any coupe against your father and the realm.”

ELIAS- “I see...so then he met my mother and---”

PHILIP- “Yes, he met Elizabeth a few years later, and then you came along.  Elizabeth is a good woman, she raised you, Dante and Emma as well,  when Emma’s  mother, Andrea died.”

ELIAS- “Wow, that explains a lot. So... Dante, does he have magical abilities?”

PHILIP- “Yes, but very few.  You were named the heir when you were eighteen.  You took over just last year when you turned 21.  Dante is a very intelligent man, science brain though, not magical much.  He worked with the government on special cases and projects.  That is where he has been the last few years, on a special undercover project in Argentina.  But I understand he has left that position to take a position at Landgraab Industries here in Willow Creek.”

ELIAS- “So Laurel and I….”

PHILLIP- “Laurel moved here when she was ten, my late wife and I raised her.  My son, her father left.  We have no idea where, but regardless, Laurel is a joy. The two of you have been inseparable since then.  We knew that the two of you would marry someday.  I mean she is a Goth and you are a Boedell, I mean it was inevitable. Any more questions?”

ELIAS- “I am an attorney?”

PHILIP- “Yes, and a very good one. You and your father run Boedell & Boedell.  I mean you graduated high school at sixteen and went right into college and law school soon after without skipping a beat. Graduated early and went right into your dad’s firm. He just made you partner before you left for Alexandria.”

ELIAS- “Okay then. So this world worked out a little better for me in that way. I suppose I need to get with Simon.”

As soon as I saw Philip, I knew that he was completely aware of what had transpired.  I also knew that he was NOT the ancient that I need to see to complete my transition.  But once he spoke I knew it was safe to discuss this with him, and he could help me with the last part of this transition.

PHILIP- “I am sure you are completely in the dark, Elias, and I understand how confusing this all can be.  I am not aware of what your reality was, but I can tell by your look and your thoughts, that is it nothing as it is here. I can help you come to terms with it and answer any questions you have, but you can not tell me of anything from where you came. Once we talk then you need to go to the Coven House, and Simon will be there to do what needs to be done.  Just know that you will have no recollection from the reality in which you come.”

ELIAS- “I understand, and honestly I do not want to know, as it would be to confusing and difficult to live in this reality with the knowledge of that one.”

PHILIP- “Precisely why you can not tell me any specifics of it. Now, you have questions, yes?”

The Goth house looked the same, I knocked on the door, expecting Either Alex or his mother to answer the door.  Instead, it was Emma, who was also dead back in the other reality.  How many more dead people would be alive here???  And who is no longer here, that should be?

EMMA- “Eli, what a surprise!  I thought you would be gone for a few more weeks, welcome home...what is up with your hair?”

ELIAS- “A spell went array, but yes, it is a surprise to see you as well. So how are things?”

EMMA- “Well, the wedding is just four weeks away! Can you believe it? In four weeks I am going to be Mrs. Alexander Goth!”

Once Simon spoke, Philip relaxed. He moved closer to me. I saw something as he looked at me. I saw his eyes. His eyes were different today than what I remembered. There was a sparkle, a glimmering in them....was that tears!?  Was he being emotional?  He was as he moved to me I could feel it. A love, a compassion.  A peace in him I had not felt before. He looked at me as his eyes began to fill with tears.

PHILIP- “Elias, my son...this has made me--- grateful. I promise I will protect you my son. I will do everything in my power to keep you out of harms way. You have a destiny in all of this. Once and for all we can bring peace to the entire realm.  With your help, it can be done.  Thank you...thank you for accepting this...”

I thought for a moment he was going to say, thanks for accepting this mission....but this wasn’t Mission Impossible, this was real.  Real life. Not a movie, not a fairy tale, this was going to be my life, from this moment on, this was my life. A return if you would call it that. I had no idea what lay ahead, but I knew once I saw Philip’s eyes, that he would do as he promised.