Shattered Worlds

"I didn't think you would come here with the baby," Leta said the moment Veronica finished her story.

"What else was I supposed to do?" Veronica asked as they slowly made their way to the mansion.

"I don't know. Actually, stay at home with the baby?"

"I mean besides that."

"I don't know what else to tell you. I'm not the one with a human baby as a sister."

"You don't even have any siblings."

"Exactly."

Veronica gave her friend a half-hearted stare because she was right.

Leta couldn't understand what Veronica wasn't going through. She didn't know what it was like to try to fit in with her human parents and human sister while dealing with her witch identity. With everyone in her family being a witch, Leta never had to deal with a human family member.

It's so unfair. Not everyone can have their entire family be only women.

Unlike Leta, whose family situation didn't make anyone bat an eye for some reason, the majority of Veronica's family was male. She had two uncles from her mom's side and three uncles from her dad's. Two were married, so she had two aunts, but all her cousins were boys too. Veronica was literally the only girl in the family, if she didn't count her baby sister.

The moment the duo stepped into the mansion, Veronica was momentarily stunned by the interior.

Golden, intricate chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Their glow highlighted the numerous paintings lining the walls, which shone with their golden frames. The chairs and couches that several witches were sitting on had bits of gold lining the material. Even the rugs at their feet shone when the light hit them.

The place reeked of money with all the expensive and flashy furniture on display.

Is it really okay for me to come in with my shoes?

She had never been to such a fancy place before. All the previous times she had met up with the witches had been at normal locations. There had been no fancy mansions or rich people vibes.

Veronica hesitated to take a step, while her friend had no problem stepping over the shiny rug.

Seeing Veronica hesitate, Leta waved at her and said, "Come on. What are you standing at the door for?" Veronica still hesitated, and Leta sighed. "What's wrong? Is it the baby? Is she giving you trouble?"

Leta's words were enough to snap Veronica out of it as she glanced down at her baby sister. Said baby sister was calmly looking around with an odd look on her face that Veronica couldn't decipher.

Was the baby happy or bored?

Well, it's better than her crying, I guess.

She didn't want to deal with her baby sister's crying again so soon after the last fit. Veronica had just calmed her down minutes earlier, and she was pretty sure none of the other witches would appreciate her baby sister throwing a tantrum.

Veronica reluctantly walked towards her friend, grimacing with each step she took across the expensive rug.

"So, where will you stay?" Leta asked as they resumed walking.

Puzzled, Veronica asked, "Stay?"

"Yeah. Stay." When Leta saw Veronica's confused look, she said, "You couldn't have forgotten what we just talked about. You have to find a place to stay until the party is over."

What is she talking about? I don't understand.

"Can't I just stick with you?" Veronica asked, her mind still mulling over her friend's odd words.

Leta stared directly into her eyes and said, "Veronica, you can't come with me."

"Wha—why not?"

"Didn't you say you'd take responsibility and keep an eye on your baby sister?"

"Yeah, but what's that got to do with anything?"

"Everything," Leta said as she waved her arms everywhere. "I want to talk with the other witches and participate in the party, but I can't do that with your baby sister around."

"She'll behavior. I promise," Veronica insisted.

Her baby sister chose that moment to clap her hands and babble.

Leta sighed. "Veronica, I'm not saying this to be mean, but you know how everyone here feels about humans. Even if she's a baby, they're not going to be comfortable with her around. No one's going to want to talk to me if she's around."

Even though Veronica wanted to argue otherwise, she hadn't missed how no one got within several feet of them. She would have to be willfully blind not to notice. Except for those sitting down, everyone else had made sure to distance themselves from them.

Whenever the girls got close to any of the witches, they would quickly move away, like they were avoiding the plague.

"Can't we just hang out?" Veronica asked desperately.

Leta's expression twisted into a mixture of annoyance and guilt. "M-Maybe next time." Then she tore her gaze away so she wouldn't have to look at Veronica's broken expression. "Veronica, this is my first party. You know how much of a big deal it is. I really want to experience it. I'm sorry."

Before Veronica could speak, Leta darted away. Veronica's outstretched hand hovered in front of her until she reluctantly lowered it. None of the other witches were looking her way as she cradled her baby sister closer to her chest. She could feel the corners of her eyes prickle with unshed tears while her baby sister remained oblivious to Veronica's troubles.

"It's my first party too," Veronica muttered to herself.

She had been excited about this event just as much as Leta had. In fact, she was certain that she was more excited, as she had pushed to be invited despite not being of age. Now she was stuck at the party where no one wanted to have anything to do with her and had to keep an eye on her baby sister. Even her best friend had ditched Veronica because of her baby sister.

Unable to take it anymore, she stormed off, hoping to clear her head and think about what she should do.

Listening to her baby sister's babbling, Veronica sighed and asked, "Can you stop that?"

Her baby sister obviously didn't understand her and continued to wave her tiny arms in front of her, trying to get Veronica's attention. Instead of giving her baby sister what she wanted, Veronica laid down by her side. Staring desolately at the opposing wall, she found herself feeling resentful for the whole situation.

It wasn't her fault that her human parents suddenly dumped her baby sister right before the party. There was no way she could have predicted it would happen. It wasn't fair that the others were punishing her for it.

Leta is a traitor. I'm never going to forgive her for ditching me like this.

Once the party was over, she was going to cut ties with the other girl.

"There you are," Echo said as he flew into the room and circled above them before landing on Veronica's arm. "I was wondering where you went."

Veronica glared at her familiar as she said, "I'm not the one who ditched the other."

"What are you talking about?"

She abruptly sat up, sending him flying through the air as she snapped, "You flew off the moment things got serious. You left me to face the other witches by myself."

Her baby sister whimpered and covered her face with her hands. Veronica went through the motions of reaching out to comfort her, but she was still angry over the fact that Echo had vanished on her while she was being ganged up by the other witches.

Veronica hadn't even noticed when he vanished. All she knew was that he had been right behind her up until the host stormed towards her. When she did finally realize he wasn't with her, she didn't have any time to spare on him. There were other things she had to deal with, and she couldn't waste her time or energy on her missing familiar.

"What did you expect me to do if I stayed?" Echo asked. "There's nothing I can do against another witch, much less one stronger than you, and with so many other witches lurking around."

"I don't know," Veronica said as she violently waved her arms everywhere. "You could have backed me up."

"They would have swatted me like a fly if I did that."

"How would you know that?"

"Well, that's what you do when you're unhappy with me." She swung her arm at him, but he easily avoided it and kept his distance. "See? You just proved my point."

"Then I guess you can find another witch to be your partner if you're unhappy with me," she snapped.

With a scowl on her face, she turned her back on her familiar, which in turn meant she turned her back on her baby sister. Veronica could feel something tug at the back of her clothes, but she was in no mood to deal with her baby sister. Her baby sister continued to tug on Veronica's clothes, which she ignored until she heard the telltale signals for an upcoming tantrum. The moment she heard the sniffles, she turned around to see her baby sister on the verge of tears.

She groaned before reluctantly picking up her baby sister and saying, "Don't cry. I should be the one crying."

As she tried to soothe her baby sister, Echo said, "I told you it wasn't a good idea to come here. We should just go back."

"...When exactly did you leave during the conversation?"

"Honestly, I hightailed out of there as fast as I could. Why?"

"Then you would have heard that no one can leave until the party is over."

"Ah."

Veronica tore her gaze away from her baby sister and snapped, "Is that all you have to say?"

Echo waved his wings frantically as he asked, "What else is there?"

She was too upset to form words. Instead, she angrily glared at her baby sister, who seemed confused about what was going on.

"Veronica, don't be like this. It's just a temporary setback. We just have to wait for a couple hours before we go."

"But I don't want to go. I want to join the party."

"Well, that's not happening with your baby sister around. Unless you can find someone willing to watch her and who is trustworthy, you won't be able to join the party."

Veronica's face darkened. All of a sudden, a lightbulb went off in her head, wiping her previous expression off of her face. She took a moment to consider the idea before going for it.

"In that case, I want you to watch my baby sister while I go talk with the other witches and join the party," she said without batting an eye.

Caught off guard, Echo bluntly said, "That doesn't sound like a good idea."

"Whose familiar are you?" Veronica demanded.

"I—"

"Whose?"

"...Yours."

"Exactly. You should be listening to me. If you want to make up for ditching me, you have to do this for me."

"...Fine." Veronica immediately cheered up. "But you can't blame me if something goes wrong. I'm just a bat. I can't do anything against the other witches."

She waved him off as she said, "They're not going to try anything with her. None of them even want to be within several feet of her."

"Wow. They must really hate babies."

"Human babies."

Veronica made sure to clarify because she was pretty certain things would have turned out differently. If her baby sister had been a witch like Veronica, the other witches wouldn't be acting like this. They would probably be unhappy to see a baby at the party before being over the moon over how cute her sister was.

"Are you really sure you want me to watch over her?" Echo asked as he landed on her baby sister's head.

"Yes," Veronica said without hesitation. "Now I'll leave you with her."

Shen then hurried away, ignoring her baby sister's cries and her familiarity to enjoy the time she had left.