Encounter With The Witches
Plot: Guilherme and Anastacia safely arrive at the house of Miss Fiona Detweiler. They also met Sir Rene Cousineau and Miss Aoife Molony. (Regency AU)
Fic under the cut cuz it’s a long one :P
The Encounter series:
Encounter With The Vampires
Encounter With A Human
Encounter With The Vampires (part 2)
Encounter With The Witches [you are here]
Living With A Vampire
Guilherme was amazed by the fact that no one seemed to notice a horseless carriage zooming through the streets of London, and he could have sworn that it would sometimes pass straight through them. Regardless, he was just glad to know that he was far, far away from Algernon and the old manor, and that Anastacia was safe beside him.
He glanced at her for a moment, and couldn’t help but chuckle at the way she looked out the window. She was star-struck, her face beamed at any little thing she saw on the street, whether it was people, or buildings, or even stray animals passing by. She seemed to be enjoying their ride to Miss Detweiler’s house, as if they were on a casual stroll around the city.
She absentmindedly glanced over at Guilherme, and immediately shut her happiness down.
“Sorry,” she said in a small voice. “I just haven’t been outside for...quite some time.”
“There’s nothing to be sorry about.” he reassured her.
Anastacia smiled at him and faced the window once more, returning her attention to the outside world, and was soon marveled by it again.
After what felt like minutes, they reached Miss Detweiler’s house. Upon arriving there, Guilherme noticed that it wasn’t exactly a house, but rather an apartment located above a rather peculiar-looking shop. He glanced at the sign above the shop and realized that it was in fact an apothecary. At least he was at the right place to treat his wounds.
“Does anyone live here?” asked Anastacia as they stepped out of the carriage.
“I suppose so.” he answered, observing his surroundings. “It did lead us here.”
They walked around the building for a while, as Guilherme was looking for a door knocker, while Anastacia marveled at the trinkets on display in the apothecary. Finally, Guilherme spotted a door far from the apothecary’s entrance, along with a tiny door knocker which was at his eye-level. The door knocker was unlike any other he had ever seen, the knocker was in a circular shape made of bone, and it was held by a small statue of a hand made of brass, though the detail on the hand looked like it belonged to a corpse. He shivered at the sight of it, but reluctantly took hold of it, and knocked on the door three times.
On the third knock, the door opened on its own, and Guilherme took a step back, both in awe and fear. Anastacia noticed his behavior and walked over him, more so curious than scared, and peeked inside though in a cautious manner. Guilherme grabbed her arm to pull her back, afraid that she would get sucked inside, and the clash of her icy skin against his warm palm shocked him for a moment, but he still held on.
“Wait.” he said, and Anastacia looked back at him. “It could be dangerous.”
“But you’re wounded.” she mentioned.
“Well, yes, but--” Guilherme started, remembering his own consequences of wandering off into an unknown house, but then he was interrupted by the sound of feet walking down a flight of stairs, as well as voices talking over one another.
Guilherme and Anastacia stepped back even further, surprised by the sudden commotion, but as the voices drew nearer, Guilherme started to recognize one of them.
Miss Fiona Detweiler stepped outside, along with a taller and bulkier man by her side. The man looked crossed, as though he had been arguing with Fiona, while she looked just as crossed as he was, as her face was a soft shade of crimson. Both of them stopped in their tracks when they saw Guilherme and Anastacia standing by the doorway.
“Who are you two?” the crossed man asked angrily.
As Guilherme and Anastacia were fumbling with their words, Fiona squinted her eyes as she studied Guilherme, then they grew wide as though she reached a sudden realization.
“I think I know you from somewhere!” she said, and the crossed man looked down at her, furrowing his eyebrows even more.
“Yes we have,” Guilherme answered, paying no attention to the man now glaring daggers at him. “At one of Baron River’s parties.”
“Of course!” she exclaimed. “You’re his friend, Sir...um…”
“Guilherme Monteiro.” he completed, and slightly bowed before her, though wincing in pain.
“Are you alright?” she asked, looking concerned.
“That’s why we’re here.” Anastacia explained. “He’s very hurt, and needs urgent care!”
Fiona studied Anastacia for a moment, but not in the same way she did towards Guilherme, this time she looked at her coldly, and Anastacia could tell by the look of her eyes that she was very skeptical of her.
Fiona then looked away, and walked over to Guilherme.
“Rene, help me carry him back inside.” she asked the crossed man. “We’re going to have to miss the party, sadly.”
Rene sighed in relief at the mention of not going to the party anymore, as he propped Guilherme to his side, but nervously pressed his lips together as he met Fiona’s glare. The four of them made their way inside the apartment, and after much bickering between Rene and Fiona while walking up the flight of stairs, they made it to the apartment, and Fiona locked the door behind her after everyone had entered.
The apartment was rather small and humble, as the door led straight into the kitchen, and just a few steps away was a small living room, and in between the two was a very narrow corridor leading to where Guilherme could only guess was their chambers.
As he took a seat at a chair nearby, a girl came out of the corridor and stopped near the kitchen, looking at the newly arrived guests, then back at Fiona and Rene. She was a rather tall young woman with light blonde hair, but what caught Guilherme’s attention was the dark marks scattered across the girl’s body.
“I thought you two were going to some rich lad’s party?” she asked.
“No Aoife,” Fiona answered. “There’s been a minor setback.”
“We’re here to heal my friend’s wounds!” Anastacia piped up.
Aoife also looked at the little vampire very skeptically, then glanced over at Guilherme, looking from head to toe.
“What’s wrong with him?” she asked.
And Guilherme began to retell his traumatic experience with the vampires at the old manor, as well as how Anastacia risked her own life to save him. Both Fiona and Aoife listened closely to his story, while Rene stood there with the most horrified expression on his face, as though he had also lived through Guilherme’s experience.
“Wait a minute,” said Rene, holding up a hand in disbelief, then pointed at Anastacia. “You’re saying that she is a vampire?!”
“Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed until now.” Fiona sighed.
“And you actually thought I would?!” Rene asked.
As Fiona and Rene argued again, Aoife approached Guilherme to observe his wounds.
“Looks like you put up quite a fight.” she said, bringing his leg up close to examine the scratches. “But you didn’t do so well.”
“Well, I’m not quite experienced with the sort.” Guilherme replied sarcastically.
“I know.” Aoife said. “It’s a miracle you survived.”
“It’s all thanks to her.” Guilherme said, gesturing towards Anastacia, who still stood by his side, and kindly waved at Aoife.
She looked at her up and down. “Very unusual…”
Anastacia merely shifted her weight from one leg to the other, while awkwardly looking to the side. Meanwhile, Rene and Fiona still bickered at each other, until he held up his arms in an exasperated manner.
“I need a moment!” he announced, leaving the apartment.
Fiona huffed and marched on over to the rest. “So, what’s wrong with him?”
“Just a broken ankle, deep scratches, and a badly bruised neck.” said Aoife.
Fiona nodded while thinking of possible treatments, when Guilherme leaned in from his seat.
“I assume I’ll be taking some kind of tonic?” he said.
“Oh no, you’ll definitely be going under a healing spell.” Fiona corrected him.
“A..spell?”
Fiona blinked. “Why of course, how else will we treat you?”
Guilherme let out a long sigh. “What have I gotten myself into?”
“Don’t worry, it won’t hurt that much!” Fiona smiled happily, and turned to ask Aoife to fetch some ingredients down at the apothecary.
“Now what about your little vampire friend?” Fiona faced Guilherme again. “Is she going to stay with you, or carry on her merry little way?”
Anastacia looked down at her hands on her lap. “I...don’t have anywhere to go, exactly…”
“She’s staying with me.” Guilherme decided.
Anastacia quickly looked up at him, with a mixture of surprise and sincere gratitude on her face, while Fiona squinted her eyes a little.
“It’s not safe to linger with a vampire.” she said. “Thought you might have learned that from what you went through.”
“I trust her.” he said.
Fiona looked over at Anastacia, then leaned closer to Guilherme, whispering in his ear.
“I wouldn’t if I were you.”
“People also say to never trust witches, and yet here I am.” he retaliated.
Fiona looked at him, and just by the mere look in her eyes, Guilherme could tell that she had given up on trying to persuade him otherwise.
“You should be fully healed by morning.” Fiona said, changing the subject. “So I suggest you sleep here for the night.”
Guilherme nodded in agreement, and Fiona left the kitchen to gather supplies for the healing spell.
After waiting for a few hours, Guilherme underwent the healing spell, and it was, in fact, very painful. His skin stretched itself as it closed his open scratch wounds, as if someone grabbed a hold of his skin and was physically pulling it over his leg, and he also felt a burning sensation on his neck as it magically healed its bruises, but the worst pain he felt was down in his ankle, as he could feel his bones rearrange themselves underneath his muscles and skin, grinding against each other like rocks.
As soon as the spell had concluded, Fiona offered both Guilherme and Anastacia the living room for them to sleep, since the apartment didn’t have a guest room, and proceeded to give the two several woolen blankets and old pillows. After that, she wished Guilherme a good night, while awkwardly giving a short nod at Anastacia, and went to her chambers.
“Do you want the sofa?” Guilherme asked Anastacia.
“No.” she said, shaking her head. “Vampires don’t sleep.”
“Oh, so the story about vampires sleeping in coffins is a myth, then?”
“They think we sleep in coffins?”
“I see.” he said, accepting that as his answer, and went on to make his makeshift bed on the sofa, which was rather small for his height, but soon enough he managed to settle himself in.
He glanced over at Anastacia, who was sitting at a window sill nearby, watching the empty streets down below, and marveling herself again at anything she set her eyes on, from a street lamp close by, to a drunken man wobbling down the block, to a dirty old street dog relieving himself on a feeble-looking tree.
“You really enjoy the human world, don’t you?” Guilherme asked.
Anastacia turned, looking surprised, but smiled.
“I love it.” she said, her eyes filled with pure joy. “I find it so fascinating! It has changed so much since the last time I saw it, and that’s what I like about humans, their ability to create new things out of thin air, and they’re always so beautiful. It’s almost like magic in a way.”
“Not everything we make is beautiful.”
Anastacia paused for a moment, looking out at the window with a slightly saddened look on her face.
“I know…” she finally spoke. “Every being has its own faults, humans are no different. But, when they do make something beautiful, it’s...astounding.”
Guilherme chuckled to himself, amazed to find an occult creature so enamored by his species’ own creations, which was something that he has despised for the longest of time. He loathed the modern inventions and ideas that were surging up these days, which were all contributing to the erasure of tasks that, although tedious, were still very effective in society, and what made humans humans.
And yet, here was this little vampire, fascinated by all of it. Perhaps it was her own naivety blinding her to the reality of it, but at the same time...there might have been some truth to what she said…
The last thing Guilherme saw before falling asleep was Anastacia looking out the window once more, with her eyes gleaming in delight.
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The Fabric of You from Josephine Lohoar Self on Vimeo.
Unable to show his true identity, Michael, a grieving tailor mouse, recounts and reckons with the memories of a past lover.
The Fabric of You (2019) is a Scottish BAFTA nominated, award winning, short stop motion animation written, directed and animated by Josephine Lohoar Self.
Cast:
Michael / Shopkeeper – Damien Molony
Isaac – Iain Glen
Producers: Calum Hart & Reetta Tihinen
Executive Producers:
Paul Welsh
Carolynne Sinclair Kidd
Holly Daniel
Executive Producer (Creative Scotland):
Ross McKenzie
Editing:
Editor & Colourist– David Hunter
Production Design:
Production Designer & Art Director - Tomás Palmer
Assistant Art Director - Freya Laird
Assistant Carpenter - Jordan Murno
Art Department Assistants - Caitlin O’Connell & Fiona Duncan Bailey
Puppet Maker - Josephine Lohoar Self
Puppet Armature Assistant - Ben Cresswell
Set Electric Work - Martin Cusack
Prop Modelling Team:
Emma White, Claire Moynihan, Akvile Dirmauskaite, Kirsteen Lyth & Frazer Graham
Costume:
Head of Costume Design – Emma Clifton
1st Costume Assistant – Eilidh Fraser
2nd Costume Assistant – Amy Copland
Sound:
Original Soundtrack - Rupert Uzzell
Sound Design - Jane Datony
Sound Mixing - William Aikman & Giorgos Mikrogiannakis
Studio Interns:
Mhairi Johnstone & Chloe Bingham
Stills Photographer:
Marilena Vlachopoulou
Post-Production Facilities Provided by Axis Studios
FX Supervisor:
Philipp Buschauer
FX Artists:
Philipp Buschauer & David Lewander
MGFX Artist:
Martin Aggerholm
Post-Production Compositors:
Alejandro More
Joseph Nickson
Nicole Rothermel
Daniel McCance
Philipp Buschauer
Additional Composition by:
Austin Temby
David Hunter
Marc Buckley
Project Coordinator For The Scottish Film Talent Network:
Arlen Barke
From Axis Studios:
Richard Scott
Jill Wallace
Ross Main
Christian Illingworth
Anna Dinse
Simon Bullen
Paula Lacerda
Dana Dorian
Keir Greatorex
From Playdead:
Kevin McCrae
Rebecca Morrow
Supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland
Scottish Film Talent Network is a consortium of the Centre for
the Moving Image, DigiCult and Hopscotch Films
Hopscotch Films, CMI, DigiCult Logos
© Hopscotch Films, CMI, DigiCult and Creative Scotland MMXVIX
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