Who: Bonnie Bennett & Veronica Lodge What: Making magic happen When: Backdated to when Klaus tries to turn on Elena's humanity Where: The Prison Warnings: N/A
It felt like everything was falling apart around Bonnie and she was at a loss as to what to do. After talking to Caroline, she knew she had to meet Ronnie and she wanted to still. It would get her mind off the fact that her friend was going to be compelled to turn her humanity back on after the terrible things she did, which led to Damon leaving the prison with Stefan. Bonnie didn’t have a chance to say anything to Damon, although she wanted to. She just knew that right now he was combative and anything she said wouldn’t have mattered. At least she didn’t think so.
She still couldn’t believe that Elena slept with Kol. Kol who was dangerous and would have killed all of Elena’s friends, her brother and even Elena herself if he had the chance. It made her wonder why Kol hadn’t tried to kill Elena when they were … intimate but she didn’t want to think about it. Thinking about Kol with Elena in any way that included intimacy was something she did not want to think about for fear of losing her stomach.
No, she was focused on this. On teaching magic to a girl who wasn’t born into a line of witchcraft. Talk about difficult. Their first meeting lasted hours as Bonnie went over the basics. The concentration, the different spells. Now that she had her grimoire, she had a hands on, page by page collection of spells that would help Veronica.
As she sat down in the same cell that they had met last in, Bonnie lit a few candles. Bonnie had given Veronica a very simple spell to practice in the two days they were apart. When she heard footsteps, she glanced back from where she sat and noticed Veronica as she walked in.
“Hey,” Bonnie said, greeting her and she took a breath. Yeah, Bonnie was definitely distracted. She was just worried, naturally about her friends, the people she cared most about and would have done anything for. But Veronica was a nice distraction too.
“How’d it go?” She asked of the spell as she looked down at her grimoire, flipping through pages. Today she wanted to try and teach Ronnie had to simply blow out the candles without blowing them out at all.
Ronnie had seen those wacko witch movies and never thought that she would be one of those wackos whispering in the dark to some pagan god, their wishes for some power to enter them through their womb or whatever freaky shit she had read during her first training session with Bonnie. A lot of it didn’t make sense and the spells that Bonnie told her to practice, well, they didn’t make sense and of course she had to tell Archie she was “busy” doing nothing just so that she could find a place to practice.
It didn’t go so well. Actually. It didn’t go well at all. Veronica tried a few spells that did nothing but the last two she tried produced some creepy things that she never wanted to revisit ever again. It had scared the shit out of her and it almost made Ronnie rethink the whole witch thing until she realized that she really wanted to learn how to protect herself and her friends.
“Well, I couldn’t float any feathers but I’m pretty sure I summoned a demonic spirit to harass me by turning off the lights.” Okay, so maybe she didn’t “summon” anything but it was creepy and there was wind that came from nowhere and the lights did turn off for like a second.
“Or maybe the generator took a shit. I don’t know. I know that it felt weird.” She couldn’t explain it but she did feel some sort of weird presence when she said the spells that Bonnie told her to practice. It was possible that Veronica’s verbiage of latin was horrible, too.
“What’s on the agenda today?” Veronica wanted to learn something that she could actually do. It was difficult practicing and not knowing if she was doing magic or just plain sucking.
Bonnie was concerned when she mentioned a demonic spirit but then she realized that Ronnie had spelled the lights off. Which … was a good start, but that wasn’t the spell that Bonnie had left her with. “I’m sure you got a word or two mixed up,” she said. “And that’s okay.” She made a face. “Okay, it’s not, but it’s okay because you didn’t hurt yourself or anyone. I’d feel really bad,” she smiled a little as she flipped through her grimoire.
“Luckily for us, my grimoire showed up, which lists all of my spells and spells from my grandmother and so on,” she nodded her head. “It’s a big deal,” she reasoned as she found the spell that she knew by heart, but she wanted it in front of Ronnie, so she could look at it. She turned the book and pushed it over toward Ronnie who sat across from her.
“You, my friend are going to light the candles and then blow them out. All by using your words. I’ll chant with you, but to blow them off, it’s all you,” she instructed as she looked at Ronnie.
She could tell that Ronnie was a little nervous, she could see it in her eyes, but Ronnie was a good at hiding it she realized. From their last meeting, it was clear that Ronnie was a strong woman, who wanted to take charge and be the one to protect her friends. It was admirable because Bonnie was the same way. She would do anything for her friends and she saw that Ronnie had that potential.
“Whenever you’re ready, we’ll start. Just clear your mind, breathe, relax and open yourself up,” Bonnie said softly as she did the same, even going as far as rolling her head to stretch her neck and she breathed, relaxing herself. It was hard almost considering everything that was going on in her life at the moment, but this was a nice distraction. She was taking advantage of it. “Lighting candles and then blowing them out. Great. I’ll be popular at all the birthday parties.” Veronica did her best not to make a face but she was sure that Bonnie caught it, thus making the other brunette give a small apologetic look. Ronnie sat indian style as instructed, her posture mimicking Bonnie’s because she wanted to at least look like she knew what the hell she was doing.
The grimoire looked just as creepy as one probably thought one would look. It was old and the pages looked worn out. She couldn’t read any of the stuff that was on it but was because Veronica didn’t know squat about latin. She knew that knowing what she was talking about was practically the first step. Otherwise how was she going to learn?
Veronica started to chant. She kept her eyes closed and tried her best to envision what she wanted to happen. She knew from Bonnie’s words that she sounded kind of off key. Again, it was probably the language that was difficult but then again the whole keeping calm and clearing her mind was a little hard, too.
Opening one eye, Veronica sighed when she realized that none of the candles were lighting up.
“So, how long is this supposed to take?” Ronnie asked, obviously a bit annoyed that none of the candles were lit. Not even one of them which made her feel like a failure. If she couldn’t light candles then what was she supposed to do? Throw matches?
Bonnie chanted with Veronica, but Bonnie could clearly tell that Veronica, while she was taking it seriously, she was rushing it. She wanted that instant gratification and she was disappointed that she was just learning how to light the candles and blow them out. Step by step. It wasn’t like she was going to teach Veronica how to do a protection spell or bring a vampire to its knees. Not until she learned this. She had to understand it, she had to feel it and Veronica was just trying to rush it.
“It’s going to take as long as it takes. But you need to slow down and stop trying to rush it. Just let it come naturally,” she stated. “Repeat after me,” she began again and started chanting in Latin, soft at first and while Veronica repeated it, Bonnie didn’t let her lead it again until she had the words correct and she was actually sounding like she was feeling it.
Soon, they were chanting together and the louder they chanted, Bonnie could easily feel the shift in the room as a slow wind began in the room.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered, not wanting Veronica to stop. Bonnie stopped chanting so Veronica could finish this on her own, so it could be said that she was the one who actually did the spell.
It wasn’t shocking that Ronnie wasn’t patient. She really didn’t know how to not rush things so she sighed and decided to get a grip on herself. Relaxing again and making sure her mind was clear, Veronica focused on the chanting, on the words that were starting to come a little easier now. Bonnie’s words were there, too. The two of them were completely in sync and the more they chanted the tighter Ronnie’s chest felt. She felt something, a pull from somewhere deep inside of her, her body becoming extremely hot.
Then there was a snap, like a fire was ignited deep inside. Behind her closed eyelids Veronica could see the flames that quivered and dance, being brought to light that she thought she could see light. In that moment Veronica decided to open her eyes and instead of the dim light of the room it was lit properly, the candles scattered around having lit themselves.
“Oh my God.” Ronnie couldn’t believe it. She almost gasped as she stood up, her eyes taking in the lit candles. She thought that maybe it was just some fluke but she felt something. She remembered feeling something.
Bonnie smiled the moment the candles were lit. There was some part of her that had doubt. She couldn’t help it. Bonnie was born to a line of witches and she didn’t think that she could just teach someone magic but Ronnie was proof that she could. Slowly, day by day. The same rush that Ronnie had felt through her, Bonnie felt it too and she felt almost invigorated as she leaned back on her hands, her breaths coming out hard as she started to come down from that high that was going to get built up again when they chanted to blow out the candles.
“Yeah?” She asked, looking up at Ronnie. She was proud of her and really, Bonnie was proud of herself too.
“And now you get to blow them out, but that can wait for a bit,” she said and leaned up, reaching for the book. She set it in front of her and then pulled out a necklace that she had found. It had a stone in it and stones were able to be charmed.
She held it up for Ronnie. “I found this and I’m giving it to you. You can wear it under your clothes if you think it’s hideous, but it will be useful to you.” She held it out for her to take so she could look at it.
“You’re going to charm it yourself, for protection. It’ll also have magic so if you need to tap into it, you can use it in order to channel it.” Because it was clear that Veronica could do magic, if she had a source that she could practice channeling it from, then Bonnie didn’t think she’d have a problem.
“I’m going to give you a list of spells too so that you can practice. Nothing drastic. Not yet, so make sure you’re pronouncing the words right, got it?” Bonnie said, offering her a small smirk.
Veronica wondered where it all came from, the power and how it made her feel powerful. She knew that power didn’t come from nowhere. She remembered Bonnie telling her that magic was channelled through nature and spirits. The world around them was their power source but there were things like ancestors and dark magic. Obviously Veronica just wanted to know the basics. “I’m guessing you don’t want me to blow them out the regular way.” Veronica frowned, her eyes on some of the lit candles, not sure how she was supposed to take the flame she gave to them. Magic was a give and take and there were consequences for using it without thinking properly. Veronica didn’t want to be one of those people.
“Wait, you’re going to let me have this?” Ronnie thought that Bonnie was joking. The stones looked beautiful and it wasn’t anything that she thought she wanted to hide although she wasn’t sure if Archie would guess what it was and why she needed to wear it.
“Charm it? I can just do that?” Veronica touched the stones, deciding to deal with that later since right now she needed to focus on blowing out the candles. How was she going to do that again?
Right. Pronunciation. Veronica wasn’t an idiot and she knew that she could do better with Latin as long as she practiced. She wondered if she could ask Betty to help her but at the same time that would be letting Betty know about her practicing magic.
Bonnie was going to give her that necklace. Bonnie was equipped with her own experience as a witch to wear a necklace that was charmed. Her experience and her heritage played a big part in what she could do and Bonnie always pushed herself, always tried to do the unthinkable and managed to somehow, come out of it and she was stronger for it.
“You’ll be able to, but first,” she said, watching as she tucked the necklace away for later. “Blow out these candle’s you badass,” she smiled faintly from across from her. Bonnie felt good about this. She felt connected to Veronica and she felt that Veronica felt connected to her. This would definitely be a bond that they shared together and Bonnie would be able to count on her in the future for help if she needed it. Bonnie rarely trusted people and she doubted that she could find another witch here that she would trust fully.
“Are you ready?” She asked, looking at her and she licked her lips. This would be another test for Ronnie, but an accomplishment also and something that she could feel proud of.
When the two girls were ready, they began softly chanting again and Bonnie could already feel the magic flowing through her with each chant as it grew louder and louder until Bonnie stopped once more only letting Veronica do it so it could be her who blew out the candles.
If Veronica could go back in time and guess that she would be spending her times being trained by a witch she would have called herself insane. Never once did Veronica think that this would be possible for her. She knew that this could help, that magic could make things possible for her even though the training itself was going to take time and practice. There was no way that she was going to master everything. She was grateful for the chane. Veronica owed so much to the witch who was willing to teach her.
“Yes, I’m ready.” Veronica relaxed, her shoulders even, her posture perfect as she remembered that feeling from before. She knew that magic made her connected to everything. The world was still here as Bonnie put it and with the world came its energy. The power at its center. The power of the life around them even though it was just death that surrounded their lives. Not everything was gone and Bonnie helped Veronica focus on that.
She thought about the fire that had lit the wicks. Veronica pictured that flame leaving, she imagined each of the candles going out and once again she felt that familiar tug at her center, that rush of energy that was spreading through her veins. She could feel it go to her and then she felt it leave. While she knew Bonnie was helping with the process this time it felt like it was all her own doing.
Opening her eyes again, Veronica saw the dim light being the only thing that illuminated the room. All of the candles were out, small wisps of smoke floating from the burn out wicks.
When Veronica opened her eyes, Bonnie’s eyes were on her, a faint smile on her lips. Veronica was getting it and she was starting to understand. Somehow, this whole thing wasn’t a coincidence. This was meant to happen in some way. Veronica was made for this. “You’ve come a long way since our first meeting,” Bonnie said and looked over the candles that were blown out. She actually felt useful. It was what Bonnie needed to feel.
“If you can practice, you should. But only the spells we’ve already done. Your pronunciation and diction is getting better and better, but it’s imperative that you speak the spells properly.” Bonnie thought before that it might not have been a good idea to just let Veronica practice on her own, but Bonnie clearly saw right in front of her that she had improved over the course of their visits. It wouldn’t be long until Veronica would help Bonnie with an even bigger spell.
Now that their practice was over, Bonnie was going back to worry about Elena. She knew that Klaus and Caroline were handling it, but Bonnie didn’t necessarily agree with it although they didn’t have much of a choice. Elena wasn’t in a hurry to turn it back on and even with her brother here, she couldn’t have cared less. Forcing her was the only option but Bonnie knew that there would be consequences.
“There’s some things that I need to tend to over the next couple of days but we can meet up after that, if you want,” Bonnie said, grabbing the candles and pouring out the wax into a cup as she began to clean their area.
“I only turned on and blew out candles.” Veronica didn’t see what was so impressive about that but apparently Bonnie thought that she was on the right track. She knew that there was something growing inside of her. Veronica could feel something beginning to grow and each time she did spells she could feel it growing stronger. A part of her was getting used to all of this and she wondered when she would be ready for something bigger. There was a part of her that couldn’t help but get excited. Since Archie knew what she was doing there was no point in hiding it. She knew that her boyfriend was afraid of what this would do to her Ronnie was adamant about learning everything that she could. If she hit any barriers in terms of her training then maybe she would stop but at the moment Veronica wanted to learn everything that she could from the witch she befriended.
“You know, I don’t think I actually said thank you for...any of this.” Veronica took in the candles again. She hoped one day she could turn them on and off without any real concentration but until then she had to focus on the things she did know. Hopefully there was a way she could master the basics while Bonnie was away.
“And you know, we don’t always have to meet up and do this. Obviously I like this and how it makes me feel but if you want to talk or...just hangout. We can do that, too. Veronica Lodge can’t really say no to friends.”
“Well, you’re welcome,” Bonnie said and grabbed another candle so she could pour out the wax. And honestly, Bonnie could use more friends. It seemed that she was losing them one by one. Maybe not that dramatic, but Elena was a devastating blow. And with her went Damon. She wanted to reach him, but she was afraid that she was going lose him to the darkness. Of course, she would try whatever she could to stop that. She just hoped that this worked with Elena. That Klaus could actually pull it off. It wasn’t how Bonnie had wanted it to happen, but if it worked, it was a win, right?
“I won’t say no to that.” Bonnie obviously trusted her enough to practice magic with her. Being friends should have definitely been a next step to that. There would be times when Bonnie would need her by her side, she wanted Veronica to be that person, to be that witch that she trusted above all others.
Everything was a mess right now, but it wasn’t like she could tell Veronica about it. Not right now. Not when everything was so uncertain.
She finished packing up the candles and she stood up then as Veronica did. “Maybe we can have a night. Just girl talk, we can conversate over the rotting decay of flesh,” Bonnie joked because really, the stench was unbearable sometimes but it was something that even she was getting used to. “I wonder if the raiders can get us some Glade.” She swung the bag over her shoulder that she was holding.
“Just practice and I’ll come check on you in a few days.” Hopefully things in Bonnie’s life would have sorted itself out, but even if they did, it would just be something else in the next few days to muck everything up. It was a cycle that never really ended.
Who knew that Veronica Lodge would find such an unlikely friend? She didn’t think she would have ever been here but at the same time there was no way for her to have known that she would be in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. There was so much that she hated about all of this but at the same time she was glad that someone was teaching her something that was useful. She knew how unethical it all was. How nobody that she knew would probably believe that she had the capacity to do magic but she did and she was learning more each time she had lessons with Bonnie.
“Right. Practice and report back. I can definitely do that.” Veronica gathered her things and smiled. She felt for Bonnie and she genuinely wanted to get to know her more outside the whole magic thing. Spending a night hanging out didn’t seem like a bad idea. A girls night was always needed and she wondered if Bonnie would mind if she brought Betty around.
For now Veronica didn’t think it was wise. Bonnie was like...her own friend outside of the core group. She wasn’t from Riverdale and for some reason she didn’t want to share that with anyone right now. It was nice to have someone who didn’t know her, who didn’t have a clue about her ties to the criminal underworld.
“I’ll ask my boyfriend to find us some,” she joked, tossing her hair back as she looked over her shoulder, a small wave given to the witch as she left.