A month passed by since the pact. During that time Wednesday made me take up the violin to play as 'background' music to her cello. My teacher being Wednesday herself. Her demands were absurd, she wanted perfection by the third try. Seeing me fail continuously she used the carrot and stick method, one wrong note and ruler hit my fingers. If I played correctly my reward was the music and I'd never admit it to her but it worked.
Now I'm in her room making a steam powered guillotine to chop her dolls heads off. At this point I don't question her and just role with it.
"There's something wrong and out of order. The power isn't enough to chop even a vegetable. Did you place everything in order like I said or did you become lazy in your endeavors?"
"I tightened every nail and gear, besides your the one who's reading the French instructions. Sure it isn't your fault, a misinterpretation perhaps?"
She locked eyes with me and I took the meaning immediately. I shut up and tried to think of something useful. A thought came to mind and I placed a hand on mechanism. I used my golden sand and replicated an x-ray version of the guillotine. Now we could see within what the the problem was.
Frustratingly I failed to see the problem, "its the valve. I thought your sand was only useful for manipulating dreams and creating pictures. Did Mother teach you that."
"No just felt natural. Well can I go now? Gomez said he'd give me a fencing lesson today."
"Why is it you agree to train with him and not me, afraid of losing to a girl? This isn't a patriarch society anymore or so I'm told."
"That's not the reason. It's rather simple, its fun with Morticia, Gomez and Pugsley too. With you it's kill or be killed."
"I prefer the term, culling the weak."
I sighed, "see you at dinner then." And walked away leaving her dolls at her mercy.
Making my way through the mansion after changing into my fencing gear I made it to the large room they used for creative purposes. Usually Morticia and Gomez use it for dancing. There I saw Gomez dueling Thing in a surprisingly even match. Their moves were still far for me to follow but I appreciated the example they gave. It ended in Gomez wining.
I applauded the duel and then Gomez bowed. He signaled for me to take Thing's place, "Elliott I trust you finished arming the toy with Wednesday."
I smiled under my helmet, only an Addams would call a guillotine a toy. "Yes sir."
"Good now let's start on your footwork again..."
-----
I was panting on the mat after dodging the endless strikes from Gomez. Lurch came in the room with beverages on que without being called, truly a master of his work. We drank some type of red smoothie and by now I've given up trying to figure out what they feed me.
"You've gotten better with your counter attacks. A little more and you'll land a hit Elliott." Fat chance, each time I thought I'd get lucky, I would be an inch sort or he'd land a hit before I could.
He read my doubts on on my face and offered me a warm smile, "You know Elliott, its been two years since you've been with us. And still I haven't been able to discern what your passionate about. For me it's my family, perhaps in a couple years time the same can be said about yourself."
"I have none sir."
He placed a hand on my shoulder, "you have our support in any endeavor. Go on Morticia wishes to train you today."
I said goodbye yet felt he was holding back something. Did Morticia say anything to him? I thought our training was secret.
Entering the gloomy room Morticia set up for us, I found her going over my mother's book. No matter how long I spend using that book, I've failed in creating any potions from it. Morticia has told me time and time again that certain Outcasts are born with that talent, never saying I couldn't. Nevertheless I continue trying stubbornly, it's the only connection I have with mother.
"Good evening lady Morticia. I thought training was postponed until you found out anything of origin. Isn't it too soon."
She smiled her signature smile, "you have yet to grasp the Addams influence. On my family's side alone we hold great say in the politics of Outcasts."
Morticia held out my mother's book and placed a finger on the cover. It was a picture etched into the leather bond book. A full moon designed to look like the sun, from it fell small stars like speck of sands.
"Our informants discovered your unique bloodline. It's more complicated than I thought, at first I thought it came from your father who you've said died before you were born. In fact it's from your mother, if my theory is true. No one on your mother's side of the family have been born with this power in hundreds of years."
She placed the book down and moved to an altar. We regularly used it to place parchment or books for me to read and learn from, rather it was more of a design choice. On it was ancient pictures of drawings archeologist took in a cave.
Their were all manner of beasts and monsters on them but what drew the attention were the people in them. The creatures were depicted as sleeping and the people were sowing or creating a dream on top of them as they slept.
"These were found in the archives of one the ancient families, lucky we're on good terms with them. Your clan, or should I say the clan your talent originates from has nothing more but these pictures and fairy tale left of them. Although it's not completely intact it explains what your clans role was in Outcasts society in the past. You soothed the minds of the more volatile of us, kept them docile and hidden so the normies could never find them in their 'witch hunts'."
"So I'm I'm what? A fairy or something?"
"That would be a good guest if it weren't for your lack of wings my niño. We still don't know the reason why your clan died out and any shared ancestry your mother had would have been generations in the past. I have theory as to why."
She looked at me with pity, the same a mother would have, "your black sand, as beautifully shaded it is, makes me believe will be your downfall."
"What?!"
"When we speak of your vengeance against the people who... killed your mother it goes out of control."
"You said it was just my lack of skill, with training I could control-" The dark sand rose unannounced proving me wrong.
Morticia placed her hand on my cheek swiping away a tear, "mi niño, you must let go of this. I'm afraid we've grown too close to let you face death so soon."
Reluctantly I agreed and nodded but a part of me held on to that twisted dream of seeing the suffer worse than mother.
She let me go after saying my training was complete and there was no more she could teach. If I needed more help, Morticia believed my family's bloodline was strong enough to support me, than an ancestor would appear. The only bright side is that she allowed me to keep my mother's book with me at all times. I was responsible enough to hold now in her eyes.
I'm going to set up a cauldron in my room and do my own experiments. This time I'll create potion. Caring my mother's legacy was the least I could do. Frustratingly I wanted to ask Wednesday for help, she has a tendency to find a solution in any case with intelligence or brute force.