Interesting beginning. I'm looking forward to seeing more of a Midnight Hollow dynasty. It's a beautiful town.
I'm glad you think so
It really is, I love playing there.
Great beginning 
I can't wait to see what happens next. Makes me want to go buy Midnight Hollow 
Thank you! Midnight Hollow is such a stunning town, I'd definitely recommend it.
Oho! Jadis Player? Nice to see you might ask a suspected murderess to move in with you 
She's not a husband, so hopefully she'll be safe
Olive does seem to have a softer, benevolent side, though.
Chapter TwoIt was impossible to get to sleep that night. Replays of conversations that day reduced Jadis to silently punching her pillow in frustration and her bed to a colourful mess of blankets. Really, she should be grateful she actually had a bed to sleep in that night, when she’d been psyching herself up for an uncomfortable night with just a sleeping bag between herself and the cold, hard ground.
She’d given Olive an abridged version of her desire for immortality and the requirements to attain it. That had seemed to satisfy the older woman without going into her reasons behind it, but those rich brown eyes had seemed knowing when Jadis had quickly glazed over finding the challenge scrawled on a scrap of paper in ‘some old book’. When the girl had finished, Olive announced that she would move in to help with the requirements, brushing away Jadis’ arguments like one would a fly.
“Nonsense. When I’m gone, it means Nervous won’t be alone.” And that was that.
Olive never did let on to Jadis exactly how she’d arranged for a small prefab to be delivered at eleven o’clock on a Sunday night. When they’d walked inside, she’d simply handed Nervous to the girl before turning to the fridge and pulling out the limited selection of vegetables.
Jadis, who’d never held a baby before, gripped the boy as if he was glass.
“What do I do?!”
“You’ve never held a baby before? Oh, just tickle him a little,” Olive had called back, a smile in her voice.
So she’d shifted the infant onto her hip and held her free arm out in a claw shape. It hadn’t been too hard to project a terrified expression onto her face, but she had a sneaking suspicion that Nervous was just playing along to make her feel better.
Regardless, she’d been grateful to tuck him in the baby swing and sit down to salad with her new housemate. Or more accurately, for one of them to sit down. Olive had politely declined the offer of the toilet.
From there Jadis had simply fallen into the unbelievably soft bed, propped up on one elbow as she sleepily watched Olive change Nervous into his onesie and tuck him into his cot.
The lethargy had vanished, though, as soon as she’d switched off the cheap bare bulb that had flooded the room with light. It was hours before she finally drifted off.
When morning inevitably came, her braid was a matted mess and sleep weighted Jadis’ eyes. Faint snores drifted from the other side of the room as she slipped on yesterday’s clothes and carefully finger combed her hair before twisting it back into her usual style.
Cat-quiet, she tiptoed out and set off for the library, which was deserted at the early hour.
The girl located a book on gardening - she’d always liked pottering in the garden back in Sunset Valley, relishing the feeling of sitting down to a meal with organic, home grown vegetables - and settled down in a comfortable armchair as Olive stirred at home.
Nervous seemed happy to amuse himself as his mother muttered at the easel, trying out paints for the first time since high school.
Even Jadis, with her limited childcare experience, noted what a remarkably quiet and resourceful toddler he was upon her return from a morning spent with her nose in books and an afternoon filling out paperwork at the City Hall for her new profession as a gardener.
It was worth it for the knowledge that she was actually employed and had made a start on the daunting tasks ahead. After another cold salad and another restless night, the girl woke with the realisation that time was ticking by and that further help would be needed soon. She left Olive painting and Nervous happily sipping a bottle of formula, determined to meet more locals.
The Lonely Literary Café was lonely indeed. Karl Simon and his flatmates left as soon as they had introduced themselves, leaving Jadis with a pile of unshelved books and a disgruntled expression.
Roderick Synapse seemed nice enough. It wasn’t until Jadis had raised the question of his household, after an hour of enjoyable conversation, that she discovered he was an insane megalomaniac.
Despairing, she rang Olive.
“This better be important. I’ve almost concocted the perfect shade of orange.”
“I’m not having much luck. Can you recommend someone to visit?”
“Can’t say anyone springs to mind. Look, Jadis…”
“Yes?” The desperation showed through that single syllable.
“If you want to meet people, why not throw a party?”
For a moment, the only sound was faint static.
“A party? At our place?”
“It’ll be fun. The close quarters will let everyone get to know you.”
Olive could understand her friend’s skepticism, though. The room was barely big enough for their furniture and household of three, let alone a dozen or more party goers. But the girl was desperate.
“All right. I’ll pick up some streamers on the way home. Tell them to come tomorrow at six.”
Author's note: For anyone wondering, Jadis' traits are: Green Thumb, Nurturing, Eco-Friendly, Charismatic and Neurotic.
