6. Chapter 6: The Branch (1/2)

june 2017, prison detention center, 5:19pm

karma is sometimes a beautiful thing.

this thought crossed dahlia's mind as she was on her way to meet her mother, who just hours before had been arrested on charge of 'accomplice to murder'. dahlia watched the entire trial with glee, even letting out a whoop when the verdict was reached. frank looked at her strangely for that, but she couldn't care less. although it felt wrong to actually support feenie during a court battle, it was still the best possible outcome. if maya fey had been declared guilty, she would've been moved to a juvenile facility, making it even harder for dahlia to reach her. but an innocent verdict meant that mimi miney, and more importantly, morgan fey, would be escorted straight to dahlia's 'palace'.

she resisted the urge to

eak out into a skip (it would be unbecoming) though the temptation was strong. not that anyone was around to watch; she had insisted frank stay behind and let her handle this alone. finally, after months of being ignored by the rotten hag, dahlia hawthorne would meet morgan fey face-to-face, and together they could concoct a plan that would allow dahlia the vengeance she so greatly deserved.

not long after, she had arrived at the area where newly incarcerated inmates were held. no more guessing as to where her target had wandered off to; this time dahlia intended to meet her straight away. in front of the door stood guard number 23. dahlia found it much simpler to assign the guards numbers as opposes to memorising all their names.

'let me in. i wish to speak with our new guest.' dahlia asked sweetly.

'certainly, ms. hawthorne.' 23 responded, opening the door for dahlia to enter. the room inside was coloured grey, nothing but a table and two chairs inside. a common interrogation room. hell, the rest of the prison was equally dull when dahlia arrived; her fellow prisoners should really be grateful to her for having so many new areas constructed on the grounds. someone sat in the chair opposite dahlia. the person wore

ight orange clothing, a long skirt and absurd-looking white hat that looked to dahlia like a mini beanbag.

mini mimey.

or ini miney, whatever her real name was. dahlia didn't care much for that aspect of the trial, it was all too convoluted for her taste. she just needed morgan.

'where's your accomplice?' dahlia asked.

'um, like, i don't know what you mean.' mimi responded casually, bumping her head with her knuckles, 'there's been, like, some kind of mistake. i didn't-'

'you can drop the act. everyone knows who you are.'

mimi gave a sad smile, then slid the hat off her head and held it tightly.

'yeah. it's just easier to act this way, you know. i'm so used to it by now.'

'don't worry about it. now where's morgan?'

'she left a few minutes go. said she was going to 'seek guidance' whatever that means.'

that could only mean one thing, dahlia thought.

'thanks, i'll be going now.'

'i didn't want to kill him, you know.'

dahlia turned from the exit to face mimi again. the girl looked close to tears.

'it's a bit late to say that, wouldn't you agree?'

'i-i had finally escaped my mistake. when all those patients died because of me.' mimi said shakily, wiping the tears with her hat, 'but dr. grey insisted on making sure people knew that 'mimi' was to blame. so i just wanted to go through with the spirit channeling, sign his written confession, and be done with it for good. but that woman... morgan fey... insisted that i kill him, for her own selfish reasons. said she'd reveal my secret if i didn't. i was forced into a corner.'

'that sounds like her. she's an evil woman, mimi, and i'm sorry you crossed her path.'

'i still think about that moment, when i s-stabbed him. the look of horror on his face. oh god, what i have done?' mimi cried out, now sobbing hysterically.

dahlia looked on, showing no reaction to mimi's outburst. normally she didn't care about sob stories, but this was an exception.

'you're a murderer, mimi miney, i can't change that. but i do have power here, and i can make your stay as comfortable as possible.'

't-thanks, but why?' mimi asked, getting control of herself. 'd-do you know me somehow?'

'i don't. dahlia responded, leaving the room, 'but i know how hard it can be to look like someone else.'

june 2017, prison church, 5:48pm

'morgan fey, in a church? i'm surprised you haven't burst into flames yet.'

morgan fey showed no response to this insult. her back was to dahlia, kneeling in front of altar, deep in prayer, or at least pretending to be. when she didn't respond, dahlia entered the church reluctantly. this was one of the few areas that had been built before her arrival; not that she would have insisted on installing a church into the facility. religion had never been a subject she was comfortable with. if heaven and hell did exist, dahlia was fairly certain which one she'd be going to. but she'd cross that

idge when she got to it.

'gotten deaf in your old age, have you?' dahlia continued with the taunts, 'but your hearing seemed to be just fine in the trial earlier today. i'm sure you heard the verdict 'not guilty' as well, correct? guess that means your plan was a failure.'

'hardly.' morgan responded, opening her eyes but still in the prayer position, 'i performed my part flawlessly. it was that

ainless woman that made a mistake.'