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Prologue: What Happened Before?

U nder the glow of a luminous full moon, two tiny figures with fiery red curls dashed breathlessly between towering, moss-draped trees in the dense Appalachian Forest. Little Martha, despite being only slightly older, gripped her sister Maisie's hand protectively as they ran along the rugged, leaf-strewn path.

"Come on, Bunny!" Martha urged, her voice steady despite her fear as she pulled her smaller sister forward. "Keep running!"

Around their necks, identical silver pendants swung wildly—simple chains holding small rectangular bars engraved with "Martha" and "Maisie," each letter catching the moonlight.

"Scared, Honey," Maisie whimpered, clutching a battered stuffed rabbit to her chest.

Martha, gripping a worn stuffed bear, wrapped her free arm around her sister. "We find water," she declared with determination beyond her years. "We be safe there."

A sharp crunching noise echoed behind them. Both girls froze before Martha grabbed Maisie's hand again, pulling her forward as their small feet pounded against the forest floor.

Hidden in the shadows of a gnarled oak, a pale figure observed their flight. Ronald—not yet the spray tanned caricature he would become, but already calculating and cruel—wore an elaborate velvet cape. His cold eyes followed the children with predatory interest.

"Let them run," he murmured. "The little witch twins will lead us right to it."

High above, Bartholomew the bat—Bartie—watched with growing unease.

His sleek black fur and refined British accent set him apart as he whispered, "Oh dear, this is becoming rather unsavory.

" He had been following Ronald as part of his vampire surveillance duties, but something about this felt. .. wrong.

When the girls burst into a clearing, three vampires materialized from the gloom, blocking their path to the distant sound of rushing water.

"Well, well," hissed one vampire, revealing glistening fangs. "What have we here?"

Martha immediately shoved Maisie behind her small but fierce frame. "Run, Bunny!" she commanded, trying to shield her sister as she looked for an escape route.

In the ensuing chaos, one vampire lunged forward. Martha threw herself at him, her stuffed bear flying from her grasp as she fought to protect Maisie. "RUN!" she screamed with all her might.

But as Maisie turned to flee, another vampire snatched her up, his cold hands silencing her terrified cries.

"I did it. I got the one. This one. This is all we need," Ronald grinned, pointing dramatically at the captured Maisie.

"Put that one down," he commanded sharply, gesturing at Martha.

He looked at the underling who had moved toward the other girl in disgust. "What are you doing with that child?

I said we only need one! Do you think I'm running some sort of orphanage?

One witch, one victory, one Ronald being tremendously successful! "

The other vampire dropped Martha.

"NO! BUNNY!" Martha shrieked, launching herself toward her captured sister, but a third vampire blocked her path.

Ronald dramatically pulled a small pouch from his cape with a theatrical flourish, holding it aloft like a prized trophy.

"This should make things... cleaner," he declared with smug satisfaction, his voice dripping with self-congratulation.

"Behold! Ronald's proprietary memory modification powder!

Patent pending!" He threw a handful of glittering dust into the air with the grandiose gesture of a magician completing his greatest trick.

"I really am tremendously brilliant at this villain business! "

The sparkling powder settled over both girls like a malevolent snow. Martha's desperate struggles slowed as confusion clouded her eyes. Maisie went limp in the vampire's arms, her memories beginning to dissolve like morning mist.

"The dust will ensure they forget each other completely," Ronald announced proudly to his minions. "The one we're taking won't remember her sister, and the one left behind won't remember being a twin. No witnesses, no leads, no competition! I really am tremendously clever."

As the magical dust worked its cruel magic, Martha collapsed to the forest floor, her mind emptying of everything except a strange, inexplicable ache and the fading echo of a word: "Bunny."

From his perch high above, Bartie watched in horror. Something twisted in his chest—a feeling he'd never experienced before. This wasn't vampire business or surveillance duty. This was... wrong. Terribly, horribly wrong.

"Good Lord," he whispered to himself, his refined accent trembling with newfound resolve.

"I can't simply observe this atrocity. That poor child.

.." He looked at the unconscious Maisie being carried away.

"Right then. I suppose this is the moment I discover whether I'm truly just a vampire's lackey, or if there's a hero buried somewhere in this furry exterior. "

With that declaration, Bartie silently swooped after the departing vampires, no longer a mere observer but a determined protector-in-waiting.

From the edge of the clearing, Leahnora Loveridge emerged, drawn by the disturbance. She found Martha lying unconscious among the fallen leaves, the stuffed rabbit that had been Maisie's clutched in her small arms alongside her own bear.

"Oh, little one," Leahnora whispered, gathering the child gently. She could sense the residual magic of the forgetting dust, the cruel emptiness where memories of a beloved sister should be. "Let's find you a safe home."

She carried Martha toward Cauldron Falls, toward the Victorian house where Rhoda and Edgar Hadwin awaited. In time, they would know her simply as "Honey"—never knowing she had once been half of a whole.

High above, the promise of a future blood moon lingered—a harbinger that one day, the separated twins might find each other again.

Until then, their paths would diverge: one sheltered in Cauldron Falls' heart, the other held captive by vampires, both carrying only the faintest echo of what they had lost.

The forgetting dust had done its work, and the long journey toward reunion had begun.

As before, the iron gates creaked open on their own as Honey approached the imposing estate alone. Leahnora met her at the door, an inscrutable smile playing about her blood-red lips.

"Glad to have you back, my dear? To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Honey stood tall, resolved to not be intimated by Leahnora’s mere presence. "I believe we have more to talk about."

Leahnora arched a brow. “Come in.” She glided silently down the hall, beckoning for Honey to follow. Apprehension prickled across Honey's skin, but she complied, determined to uncover the unknown.

At last, they reached the candlelit chamber again. Leahnora turned, her eyes flashing.

"There are always secrets in Cauldron Falls. We all know that," she whispered. "Dark secrets beneath our glittering facades. You’ve yet to stumble upon your own secret."

Honey's pulse quickened. "What do you mean, my own secret?"

Leahnora hesitated. "I really shouldn’t speak of such things. But perhaps you are ready for the truth..."

Confusion flooded Honey. "What do you mean? What truth?"

Leahnora's gaze bore into hers. "As you know, I was once a renowned fortune teller, known as a gazer to some, before I turned against the knowing. It was too painful to always see what was coming. I’ve struggled for years to keep my visions at bay.

But one night last year, unbidden, a vision came to me. A memory, one might say."

She took Honey's hands, her expression gentle yet grave.

"In this vision, I saw that you came to us here, as a tiny soul, lost and scared.

But you were not alone. A sister held your hand as you were running through the woods.

A tight grip, until a trip over a stone, and a scuffle, where you lost all but her small stuffed bunny.

There your lives were separated. You found your way here to our enchanted corner of the world.

Our Cauldron Falls. But somewhere, out there in the world, there is a part of you, a sister from birth whom you must find and bring back to Cauldron Falls. "

Honey's breath caught, shock rooting her to the spot. “A sister? How was that possible?”

Leahnora gave her hands a reassuring squeeze. "I tell you this now because you are ready to know, and she needs you. She is seeking you out."

Overwhelmed, Honey's heart rose in her chest. All her life, she had felt there was some part of herself missing. She had kept that to herself, buried deep under her skin.

Leahnora glided to an ancient chest, producing a scroll tied with a silk ribbon. "This scoll will help you in this quest. You will need many tools and much protection."

With a racing heart, Honey accepted the scroll. “But what do I do next?”

Leahnora turned, her eyes glinting in the firelight. “There is more you must know before you decide what is next.”

“Okay.” Honey urged breathlessly.

Leahnora met her gaze. “In my visions now, your sister is surrounded by bats. Vampire bats.”

Honey reeled back in shock. “What? How can that be? Vampire bats can be deadly.”

“I am afraid it is true,” Leahnora whispered. “I cannot say if she dwells in a realm of darkness, perhaps even turned to a creature of the night herself.”

Thoughts swirling, Honey spun toward the door. A sister consumed by evil? It seemed impossible. “Why did you tell me this?”

“Because she’s coming to find you and that means she coming to Cauldron Falls.

You’re not the only one who lives with the sting of separation and loss.

She too has struggled with never quite feeling a part of the world she inhabits.

She is restless. Or you could find her first. You must know this now, while you can get ahead of it. ”

Honey clutched at her own chest, dismayed by the truth in Leahnora’s words. “You could have told me this a year ago.”

“Yes. I could have. But would you have accepted it? Leahnora gathered Honey’s hands in her own. “You know now. Look for your sister before the darkness consumes you both. But beware... the path is fraught with peril.”

Overwhelmed with fear and sorrow, Honey knew what she had to do. For the sake of her sister’s humanity, and perhaps her own, she would confront vampires or bats, or whatever she had to face to save her sister, herself, and everyone she loved in Cauldron Falls.

Rhoda and Edgar Hadwin stepped through the shimmering transport portal into the FACTS & FIBS Victorian kitchen, weary but pleased after another successful mission rescuing familiars.

They were surprised to find the house empty except for Roam O'Reilly sitting solemnly at the farm table in the center of the room.

"Where is our Honey?" Rhoda asked, immediately concerned something was amiss.

Before Roam could respond, Honey came bursting in the Cadillac swinging door. She froze when she saw her parents, tears springing to her eyes.

"You're back! I'm so glad..." Her voice trailed off as she rushed to embrace them.

"Dear Honey. There, there. What is wrong?" Rhoda asked gently, smoothing Honey's hair.

Honey took a deep breath before responding. "I went to Leahnora to find out the meaning behind her cryptic message to me a year ago, when we were investigating Lily’s murder. I just learned I have a sister out there somewhere. I have to find her before she comes to Cauldron Falls."

Rhoda and Edgar exchanged astounded looks.

“What are you talking about, Honey?” Edgar took his daughter’s trembling hand in his.

She told them of Leahnora's mystical revelation. They listened with a mix of shock and knowing.

Rhoda sighed, “I always knew you were looking for someone when you stared out into the distance beyond the woods. Remember Edgar? When she was little, how she’d go to the woods and call for her ‘Bunny’?”

Edgar nodded. “I thought you were just playing a game with your dolls. The bunny and bear never left your side when you were small.”

“I remember. It’s fuzzy, like a black and white movie. But it’s there.” Honey felt for the necklace around her neck. The one with the silver bar engraved with Martha. “I bet she has one of these, maybe?”

The room fell silent.

“We love you and think you are so brave.” Rhoda paused.

"Are you sure this is what you must do?" Edgar finally said, blinking back tears of his own.

Honey nodded firmly. "I've never been more certain. My heart is calling me to find her.”

Rhoda cupped Honey's face tenderly. "Then you have our blessing. We are here for you, whatever you need."

Honey clung to them tightly before stepping back and taking Roam's hand. "I'll have Roam with me. We’re going to start with the woods, since that is where I lost her."

Watching their daughter start on another perilous quest, Rhoda and Edgar held each other close.

Glancing at her distraught parents, Roam added, "And I give you my oath that no harm will come to your daughter under my watch." He placed a hand over his heart. "You have entrusted me with your greatest treasure. I will protect her with my life."

Fresh tears sprang to Honey's eyes. Impulsively, she threw her arms around the tall shifter. Rhoda and Edgar exchanged an approving look.

Composing herself, Honey stepped back and smiled. "Before we just jump into the wild. I think we should start by examining the scroll that Leahnora gave me, but we’re going to need help. Lots of help from our friends.”

“I’ll make the muffins.” Edgar smiled and snapped his fingers, filling the island with pastries.