Work Text:
One night, Warlock Dowling awakes crying due to a nightmare. His parents, as usual, don’t hear him, and even though he waits for Nanny Ashtoreth to come in and ask what’s wrong, a few minutes later she’s still nowhere to be seen. So, after several minutes of trying to get back to sleep, he decides to step out of bed and go for her.
Rubbing his left eye, he waddles to Nanny Ashtoreth’s bedroom. He’s never been there before and she has always been very clear about the rule of not visiting her there. But he’s scared and he needs her, and knowing that she won’t open the door, he just enters without knocking.
Nanny Ashtoreth jumps when she sees him. Warlock’s eyelids are heavy and the lights are on, but he still can distinguish her figure, sitting in front of her mirror without make-up or everyday clothes, and looking… not like herself at all.
“Nanny?” He asks, “Is that you?”
She quickly puts on her sunglasses and walks to the door, kneeling in front of him.
“Alright, kid, don’t get scared. It’ll be over soon,” she says in a voice that sounds way deeper than her usual tone, even with a slight hiss in every other word.
She seems to be the scared one, though. As fast as she got up, she raises her hand. It looks like she will snap her fingers or something, before Warlock interrupts.
“It’s okay,” he tells her, “You’re still pretty.”
Nanny Ashtoreth looks shocked when she lowers her hand.
“You’re the prettiest person I know,” Warlock insists, and puts his arms around her.
She’s reluctant before holding him back.
“Oh, my dear boy…”
And she sounds like herself again.
When they pull back, she gets back on her feet and holds his hand.
“Well, sweetheart, I would say it’s time for you to go back to bed.”
And as she walks him through the hallway into his bedroom, Warlock knows he told her the truth.
Next afternoon, while Brother Francis and him are working on the garden, there’s something he can’t help to say.
“Brother Francis?”
“Yes?”
“You said… You said we should love everyone.”
“Oh, of course, we should love every single living thing.”
“That includes Nanny Ashtoreth, right?”
“Yes, that includes her.”
“Do you love her?”
Brother Francis chokes a bit, but he quickly recovers.
“I love all creatures.”
“I know, but… she’s different.”
That’s the only moment during the whole conversation that Brother Francis stops what he’s doing to properly listen.
“What do you mean by… different?”
“She’s not like other girls I know. She’s not like my mother. But… but you still love her, right?”
“Uh… Of course, of course! And we should…”
“You should tell her she’s pretty.”
“Tell her she’s pretty? And why would I do that?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “Just so she’ll know what you think about her.”
They stop talking when they see Nanny Ashtoreth walking towards them, carrying a picnic basket. Warlock and her had been talking about having a picnic for weeks now.
“Well, everything seems to be ready,” she announces, “Shall we go, sweetheart?”
“Tell her,” he reminds Brother Francis in a secret tone, nudging him.
Brother Francis looks nervous when she stares at him, subtly raising her chin in an expectant gesture.
“Uh… I just wanted to say… Is that a new dress?”
“It certainly isn’t. I’ve been wearing this dress for years, now.”
Brother Francis looks back at Warlock, who hasn’t lost his demanding expression. He focuses on Nanny Ashtoreth again.
“Oh, well, it looks quite… nice on you, if you don’t mind me saying it. It’s… it’s very pretty.”
She fixes her glasses, unimpressed.
“Thank you for that… nice, even though hardly appropriate opinion.” She reaches out for Warlock’s hand. “We should hurry if we don’t wish to lose the sunlight, my dear.”
Warlock accepts the gesture and they both leave. Even though Nanny Ashtoreth doesn’t express any appreciation of Brother Francis’ comment, the boy notices the soft smile that stays on her face for the whole afternoon and feels happy for her. She truly is pretty and he hopes she never forgets it.